Texas Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick blistered Disney for its opposition to the recently-passed Parents Rights in Education law in Florida, and promised to prioritize passing a similar parents rights bill in his state during the next legislative session. (Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids entertainment content.)
Patrick made the comments in a campaign release Monday, simply titled “I Am Done With Disney!,” along with a list of recommendations for the interim session of the Texas State Senate.
“Like so many, I have been a Disney fan my entire life,” Patrick wrote. “As a child, I loved Davy Crockett with Fess Parker and watched the Wonderful World of Disney. As a parent and grandparent who has taken his family to Disney World multiple times, I am angry. At first, I was angry at their over-the-top radical resistance to a Florida law that simply says schools cannot sexualize children in elementary school. I will make this law a top priority in the next session. This issue will be addressed in our interim Education Committee hearings under Parental Rights. But now private videos from Disney officials have emerged where they purposely plan to indoctrinate my grandkids and your children and grandchildren on the issue of sexuality. Just this week they also announced they will no longer address anyone with the greeting ‘boys and girls’ and ‘ladies and gentlemen’ at their parks. This crazy ‘woke’ radical agenda is pushed by a few, but rejected by almost everyone in America, across all political spectrums.”
“Parents trusted the Disney brand, all while Disney was undermining parents who believed Disney was a quality and good company,” Patrick continued.
In response to these new revelations, Patrick urged Texans to boycott Disney.
“Until they change their corporate philosophy, stop spending money with them,” he wrote. “Cut off the Disney Channel. Cancel your park trip or your cruise if one is planned. If you own Disney stock, sell it…Write a letter to their company or call them with your polite, but clear disappointment and tell them they must change or you are through with them. And spread these videos to your friends. People must see what has been going on behind the Mickey curtain. I know your kids and grandchildren will be disappointed and may not understand. But, would you rather have them indoctrinated by Disney radicals?”
Patrick acknowledged that he did own some stock in Disney, but said in the release that he has sold his stock as of Monday. He also admitted to taking a trip to “Disney” in March, but said “if I had known then how they would respond to the Florida law and if I had seen those videos, they would not have gotten one penny from me.”
“Some may think parents, including me, are overreacting. We are not,” he concluded. “Disney is a massive international company planning to indoctrinate children around the world with radical ideas. If we cannot fight for our children, then what can we fight for?”
Patrick also included his updated list of legislative charges for the Texas State Senate’s interim session. In the release, Patrick charged the Senate Education Committee, under the header “Parent Empowerment,” to “[review] Texas’ existing parental rights and responsibilities in current law” and “[evaluate] current public school practices toward parental and community engagement,” especially in areas of curriculum and learning materials, governance, and accessibility to school officials. He further charged the Committee to “Make recommendations to enable parents to exert a greater influence on their child’s learning environment, including enacting meaningful change at their public school campus or district, and affirm parents as primary decision-makers over their child’s schooling options.”