“Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return to the air on Tuesday after being suspended last week, Disney announced on Monday.
&#8220;Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,&#8221; a Disney spokesperson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/disney-announces-jimmy-kimmel-live-returning-tuesday-after-suspension">told</a> Fox News Digital in a statement.
Kimmel’s suspension caused a complete uproar in the Hollywood community and across social media as critics accused the network of “censorship” and squashing free speech.
The comments from Kimmel that prompted the suspension included the host falsely claiming that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA supporter. Investigators say that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing, was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked the conservative commentator for his beliefs.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his show last week.
The late-night host’s suspension came amid pressure from broadcast companies that own ABC affiliates, including Nexstar and Sinclair, who pulled the show from their stations.
Last Wednesday, FCC chair Brendan Carr criticized Kimmel’s comments, leading many to assume that Kimmel’s show was pulled due to government pressure.
Multiple petitions and protests were ongoing. Kimmel made no public statements, but was seen visiting his attorney, per multiple reports. Other late night hosts came out with full fury in support of their colleague, with Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and others saying the suspension was wrong.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner also came out publicly against the suspension.
Meanwhile, many people observed that Kimmel’s ratings have been less than stellar for a while, leading them to speculate that the suspension was about more than a single issue.

JIMMY KIMMEL

Disney Caves, Will Let Jimmy Kimmel Return To Air On Tuesday

comedian

Disney

Entertainment

Jimmy Kimmel

Television

U.S.

Howard Stern announced on his radio show Monday that he canceled his Disney Plus subscription as a form of protest against Jimmy Kimmel being suspended.
“I’m trying to say with the pocketbook that I do not support what they’re doing with Jimmy,” the shock jock told his audience. “I can no longer keep my mouth shut … I feel obligated to say something, because s***’s getting outta control,” Stern said at another point.
“I just know, when the government begins to interfere, when the government says, ‘I’m not pleased with you, so we’re going to orchestrate a way to silence you,’ it’s the wrong direction for our country,” Stern added. “And I should know. I’ve been involved in something like this,” he said, referencing multiple fines from the FCC his show has received over the years for indecent content.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” was suspended last week after comments the host made about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel falsely claimed that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA supporter.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his show.
The late-night host’s suspension came amid pressure from broadcast companies that own ABC affiliates, including Nexstar and Sinclair, who pulled the show from their stations.
While most of Hollywood is crying about censorship, there’s an alternate explanation being given for Kimmel’s show getting pulled, which has to do with low ratings. 
“If Howard is sad about Kimmel’s absence on air, he should talk to ABC who made the decision to pull down his unfunny and unpopular show,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/22/media/howard-stern-blasts-abc-suspension-of-jimmy-kimmel-cancels-disney/">the New York Post</a>.
“This has nothing to do with free speech; low-ratings loser Kimmel is free to make whatever bad jokes he wants, but a private company is under no obligation to lose money producing unpopular shows,” she added. “Kimmel’s ratings have declined over 63 percent since his show moved to its current time slot and he has lost over 43 percent of his audience since President Trump returned to office.”

Howard Stern

Howard Stern Says He Canceled His Disney Plus Account Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension

boycott

Media

Several Marvel stars are urging a boycott of their own parent company, Disney, following last week’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel&#8217;s show airs on ABC, which Disney also owns.
“She-Hulk” actress Tatiana Maslany told her Instagram followers to terminate their streaming services, writing, “Cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!” 
Actor Pedro Pascal shared a similar message on social media Thursday, asking fans to boycott as a means to “defend free speech” and “defend democracy.”
Marisa Tomei, who played Aunt May in several Marvel Spider-Man films, also instructed her followers to “unsubscribe and boycott” Disney and ABC.
Marvel actor and outspoken leftist Mark Ruffalo also wrote that the company&#8217;s stock will &#8220;go down a lot further if they cancel&#8221; Kimmel&#8217;s show permanently.
&#8220;Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America,&#8221; Ruffalo <a href="https://www.threads.com/@markruffalo/post/DO1CP-Jjtsj">wrote</a> in a Threads post. He also told fans that he’s on Kimmel’s side by posting a photo of them standing together, which included the caption, “Standing with you Jimmy Kimmel Live!” 
Ruffalo said during a No Kings online event, “My industry doesn’t really understand what’s happening right now, but what they do understand is our freedom of speech is being attacked.”
“Lost” creator Damon Lindelof threatened to sever ties with Disney on social media, saying he could not &#8220;in good conscience work for the company&#8221; until Kimmel&#8217;s show is back on the air. Lindelof&#8217;s threat is significant because he is involved in an upcoming Star Wars and Lucasfilm project, according to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-reactions-marvel-disney-stars-1236376120/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. Disney owns Lucasfilm and the Star Wars brand.
“I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon. If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it,” Lindelof <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DOwIihziT9Z/">wrote</a>.
A statement voicing outrage over the suspension has been signed by more than 600 comedians, including Jimmy Fallon, Chelsea Handler, Rosie O’Donnell, W. Kamau Bell, Kathy Griffin, David Cross, Kevin Nealon, Margaret Cho, and others.
“It’s a dark time for comedians, and by extension, for all Americans,” it <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-vhY9XHKjmqUJ50imhEn4UPXTTYgxY9XlZ83hhA2k_o/edit?tab=t.0">reads</a>. “When the government targets one of us, they target us all. They strike at the heart of our shared humanity. They strip away the basic right every person deserves: to speak freely, question boldly and laugh loudly.”
The comments from Kimmel that prompted the backlash included the host falsely claiming that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA supporter. Investigators say that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing, was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked the conservative commentator for his beliefs.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his show last week.
The late-night host’s suspension came amid pressure from broadcast companies that own ABC affiliates, including Nexstar and Sinclair, who pulled the show from their stations.

Kimmel

Marvel Stars Turn On Parent Company, Call For Disney Boycott After Kimmel Suspension

Charlie Kirk

Singer Sarah McLachlan, the Canadian recording artist who rose to fame in the 1990s, is getting mixed reactions for refusing to perform at Disney’s “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery” documentary premiere.
The 57-year-old was slated to perform on Sunday but later pulled out due to her disagreement with “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” being suspended indefinitely by ABC as of last week, per <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/09/sarah-mclachlan-opts-out-performing-abc-news-lilith-fair-1236552063/">Deadline</a>. The red carpet event for the premiere was also canceled at the last minute, as several individuals involved in the project protested Kimmel being “censored.”
McLachlan was one of the founders of Lilith Fair, a traveling music festival featuring female musicians that ran from 1997 to 1999 and was revived in 2010. She appears in the documentary, which is distributed by ABC News Studios, a subsidiary of Disney.
“It’s a gift for all of us to see [this film], but also I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech,” she said. 
“I think we’re all fearful for what comes next, and none of us know, but what I do know is that I have to keep pushing forward as an artist, as a woman to find a way through, and though I don’t begin to know what the answer is, I believe we all need to work towards a softening to let in the possibility of a better way, because I see music as a bridge to our shared humanity, to finding common ground.”
“If Lilith taught me anything, it taught me there is a great strength in coming together to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down,” McLachlan added. “So I really hope this documentary inspires everyone to continue to try and create positive change in your communities, to keep lifting each other up, keep championing the causes you believe in with kindness and empathy because ultimately we’re all in this together.”
She apologized to fans who found the cancellation “disappointing,” saying she and singer Jewel both chose to cancel their performances “in support of free speech.”
This led to mockery online, with many pointing out that it was as if McLachlan was canceling herself.
“The right to free speech does not encompass the right to be perennially unprofitable,” one person on X <a href="https://x.com/Ralphy__Boy/status/1970044227984949481">said</a>, referencing the Kimmel situation.
“This isn’t about free speech. It’s about bad jokes and bad ratings,” another <a href="https://x.com/cdjohns2009/status/1970077584600760651">agreed</a>.
“So… they’re cancelling themselves?” a third commenter <a href="https://x.com/timeflies9270/status/1970071264393085103">wrote</a>.
Many celebrities and public figures have spoken out against the suspension of Kimmel’s late-night show, claiming it is a violation of free speech. The host falsely insinuated that the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk was part of the “MAGA gang.”
Kimmel had stated in his monologue, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan Refuses To Perform At Disney’s ‘Lilith Fair’ Premiere Over Kimmel Suspension

Celebrities

singer

Disney has a “boy problem.” 
At least, that’s what a recent Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/disney-marvel-lucasfilm-gen-z-1236494681/">report</a> suggests, quoting insiders at the company who admit the entertainment company has lost the interest of Gen Z men that the outlet describes as a “lonely, gaming-obsessed group who were hampered in their formative years by COVID-19 lockdowns.” 
Disney executives are now hunting for answers, considering every conceivable tactic from “splashy global adventures” to old-fashioned “treasure hunts” in an effort to lure young men between the ages of 13 and 28 back to the House of Mouse.
But for Bill Rivers, a bestselling author and former Trump admin speechwriter, the diagnosis is clear. The problem with Disney isn’t the lack of over-the-top projects. In the end, he says, Disney alienated their audience by forcing an ideology that undermined the same values it used to celebrate. 
When asked for his initial reaction to Disney’s alleged “boy trouble,” Rivers blamed it squarely on the stories being told.
“It’s self-inflicted,” he told The Daily Wire via an email interview. “They’re going to have to ditch an ideology that sneered at masculinity, chivalry, righteous honor, power for noble purposes, the warrior ethos – all these things that coded as toxically male – and accept these attributes are actually good and necessary for any healthy society and worthy of exploring in entertainment.”
“This ideology was obviously anti-men,” Rivers added, “but the kicker is realizing it was also perniciously anti-women because it drove men out of the places women wanted to engage with them. Disney’s already taken the first step by recognizing they have a problem; the next step is to remain stubbornly open to stories they would have discarded as too traditional. It’s a time for tradition. Traditional stories stick around for a reason.”
A return to tradition, Rivers argues, is precisely what Disney needs to survive. “Unfortunately for Disney, it’s both,” he said when asked whether the issue was about content or a deeper cultural disconnect. 
“On content, the boldest thing Disney can do right now is return to traditional storytelling – courageous heroes, nasty villains, and incredibly high stakes for believable characters who wrestle with timeless challenges like family, romance, revenge, redemption. You can tell these stories in outer space or [a] small town in Appalachia, because setting matters less than plot and character.”
The overarching failure, according to Rivers, is how Disney treated young men for years.
“Regarding Gen Z men, Disney still treats them as if they don’t matter when it pushes cash-grab reboots aimed at them and not works of art crafted for them. ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Minecraft,’ the new superhero slop – this is the warmed-over childhood content of Millennials and Gen Xers. Worse, you’ve got these ideological political messages shoved in there. It totally kills the story,” Rivers said, noting how young men “hate being told what to think.”
For decades, Rivers notes, Disney never faced this problem. 
“Marvel, Star Wars, even Pirates of the Caribbean kept this 13–28 year old demographic engaged. What changed? Disney was fortunate to acquire some of the most compelling storytelling in American culture with the original Star Wars and Marvel comics. But these franchises were products of once-in-a-generation geniuses who did the creative heavy-lifting half a century ago or more. Ideological execs have squandered this inheritance for a payday or used them as a vehicle to ram political messages down their audiences’ throats. That’s propaganda, not storytelling.”
And “great storytelling,” Rivers insists, is hard to come by because the content creators have to trust their audiences to come to certain conclusions. That will never work if the studio openly despises them. 
That’s why Rivers disagrees with the suggestion floated in Variety that this problem can be solved by building new franchises centered on splashy adventures.
“Gen Z males are hungry for brotherhood and purpose. They want demanding missions where success is deeply consequential not just for them but for the people they care about. In the content they consume, that can involve treasure hunts and globe-trotting, but those things are secondary. Confusing them for the core is misguided and probably extremely expensive thinking for studio execs.”
The Variety piece described young men as isolated, stunted by COVID lockdowns, and obsessed with gaming. Rivers sees a half-truth there. 
“They are lonely, but I take issue with the ‘gaming-obsessed’ thing because that’s not what they are really after. … The boys weren’t stunted by COVID but by the people who used it as an excuse to get more control over society. By and large, those people subscribed to the same bad ideology that is basically anti-male, anti-woman, and anti-civilization.”
When asked what’s missing in today’s blockbusters, Rivers said it comes down to three things: “Authentic brotherhood. Transcendent purpose. Patriotism,” he said. 
“I write about young boys trying to become men, and all three of those things are critical to that. My novel ‘Last Summer Boys’ explores this in the Vietnam War-era of 1968, but it was a bestseller in 2022 because those are timeless concepts that people desperately want to engage with.”
“As a society, we become the stories we tell about ourselves,” the author said. “Disney understands this, it’s just for so long they injected their stories with an impoverished ideology. The blockbusters that say ‘to hell with that,’ and bring back brotherhood, purpose, and patriotism will dominate. By the way, women love those stories too.”
Despite the current state of entertainment, Rivers remains optimistic: “Disney can absolutely turn this thing around. It’s an iconic American company with an incredible legacy. Just as important, the country is at a moment where we as Americans are willing to do the hard work of renewing and reviving our greatest institutions. Disney can change from within, but it should also recognize America has no shortage of incredibly talented writers and storytellers who love this country and are willing to work with them. Hire those people. Acquire their stories.”
In fact, Rivers believes Disney’s crisis could be a blessing in disguise. “Really, Disney’s ‘boy trouble’ crisis is a gift for the company. Because the opportunity for them is enormous, and I don’t just mean commercially. If Disney starts telling authentic, powerful stories that men actually want to see, they will capture a rising demographic and participate in a renewal of American culture in a way worthy of the greatest institutions.”
Disney already admitted they have a problem – a classic first step. Now they just need to go about solving it in a way that doesn’t alienate young men even more.

Disney’s ‘Boy Trouble’ Is A Crisis Of Its Own Making. The Fix Doesn’t Require A Plot Twist

Disney's 'Boy Trouble' Is A Crisis Of Their Own Making, But There Is A Solution

Gen Z

Movies

As someone who grew up going to Cracker Barrel on road trips, I, along with millions of Americans, heaved a sigh of relief when I heard the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cracker-barrel-thought-the-logo-u-turn-would-be-enough-it-wasnt?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Cracker+Barrel+Thought+The+Logo+U-Turn+Would+Be+Enough.+It+Wasn%E2%80%99t.">old logo</a> would remain.
But while we won’t have to endure the Soviet-style brutalist-inspired logo redesign, the new minimalist décor and proposed architectural plans for new stores are still on the menu.
If you aren’t familiar, these architectural plans look suspiciously like those at new Taco Bells (where the current Cracker Barrel CEO was before) — and they’re indistinguishable from those of a small industrial warehouse.
This is yet another example of the push for a Woke Generica from those trying to erase familiar symbols of American art and architecture. But their movement targets more than just symbols — it’s a movement against the entire pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit that defined and built America.
American history is filled with people seeking to fill in the blank edges of the map and build the impossible. For centuries, we’ve been a nation that stood out for our accomplishments. Now, though, we have a corporate culture that overwhelmingly views blending into the crowd as an accomplishment.
One of our greatest entrepreneurs, Henry Ford, warned of this kind of latent unimaginative culture when he said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” There’s a reason it’s cliché to say that innovators and entrepreneurs expand our horizons.
The most groundbreaking and quality-of-life-uplifting innovations — whether an invention such as the computer, or a business model such as Amazon’s logistical empire — almost always stem from the kind of pioneering risk-taking that is so core to the American identity.
But the new Cracker Barrel redesign is a case study in a futile attempt to simply make a faster horse. And while blandly blending into the background can feel safe, it’s a clear road to stagnation.
In part, what we are seeing is a business world losing perspective with what they actually sell. Only part of a product is its material, functional, form. Whether you call it the vibe, style, or aesthetic, part of the service that people want is what inspires the mind and the soul.
One of the many failings of Eastern European communist societies was their focus on the tangible practicality of things. It was an overtly Marxist pursuit, but it was also — inadvertently — a movement focused on draining artistry out of the ordinary experiences of life and on assaulting our sense of rootedness and belonging.
The man they tried so casually to take off the Cracker Barrel logo isn’t just a generic old man. He’s Uncle Herschel — the real-life uncle of Cracker Barrel founder Dan Evins. He’s also a kind and friendly face, welcoming you into not just the eatery, but the environment that is a Cracker Barrel &#8220;Old Country Store.&#8221;
That environment conjures the spirit of the pioneering West and the ideal of a rural farming community’s gathering place and grocery supplier — featuring a favorite of mine, a wall of a dozen or so unique types of root beer.
But more importantly, that environment reminds us of a crucial and unique piece of our shared national spirit and identity.
Steve Jobs gave warnings about just this sort of thing — about the danger of a business replacing the people who created the product with people focused simply on marketing it without a deep respect for the richness of the product or brand.
Sadly, Cracker Barrel is only the latest in what is now a long line of businesses that have abandoned their purpose and history.
The most stunning example is, perhaps, the Greek tragedy that Disney has turned into — an existence that, over the last 10 years, has cost them the respect of most of their long-time fanbase and 20% of their inflation-adjusted market cap.
The Disney story presents a set of roadmaps that would be useful for Cracker Barrel and, indeed, the broader corporate world today to study.
After the sudden death of Walt Disney in 1966, the company largely lost its sense of soul and purpose and languished for 18 years.
When Michael Eisner came in as CEO in 1984, though, he oversaw the next 15 years of what is now called the Disney Renaissance, featuring “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King,” cruise lines, overseas theme-park expansions and many of the things that we now think of as the height of Disney art and culture.
Disney’s stock soared more than twenty-fold in inflation-adjusted terms during this period. But this is more than a simple business success story.
On day one, Eisner went to visit the Disney Imagineers — the people who knew Walt and still embodied the spirit of his vision.
Eisner ignored pressure to pursue what was seen as standard and safe — the pressure to radically depart Disney from its heritage. Instead, he sought to re-embrace that heritage and to rebuild the company in its truly unique style. That made all the difference.
Today, Disney’s current woke stagnation is the product of the last generation or so of abandoning those principles and following the same crowd that brought Cracker Barrel to take the barrel, and Uncle Herschel, off the logo.
Will we sheepishly go down the road of the brutalist logo and woke live action remakes? Or will we go the way of the Disney Renaissance — and reclaim the way of the rugged American pioneer and entrepreneurial innovator?
For now, the market has spoken and saved Cracker Barrel’s logo. But the question remains — and the nation as a whole must answer.
* * *
Richard Stern is Acting Director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation and Director of its Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Trump Says Cracker Barrel Should Restore Old Logo After Backlash

From Uncle Herschel To Mickey Mouse: Cracker Barrel’s Disney Dilemma

Corporations

Cracker Barrel

Heritage Foundation

Woke Culture

Rapper Snoop Dogg has angered LGBT activists with recent statements he made about the pervasiveness of gay storylines in children’s programming.
The 53-year-old recording artist, whose legal name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., made the remarks during an appearance on a recent episode of the “It’s Giving” podcast.
“What you see is what you see, and they’re putting it everywhere,” Snoop said before referencing the 2022 Disney film “Lightyear,” which featured a same-sex couple. 
“They’re like, ‘She had a baby with another woman.’ Well, my grandson, in the middle of the movie is like, ‘Papa Snoop? How she have a baby with a woman? She’s a woman!’” he went on.
The rapper said he thought,” ‘Oh sh**, I didn’t come in for this sh**. I just came to watch the g**damn movie.’” But his grandson wouldn’t let it go, and said,”’ They just said, she and she had a baby … they’re both women. How does she have a baby?’” 
Snoop said the whole thing “f***ed me up. I’m like, scared to go to the movies. Y’all throwing me in the middle of sh** that I don’t have an answer for.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
“It threw me for a loop. I’m like, ‘What part of the movie was this? … These are kids,” he added. “We have to show that at this age? They’re going to ask questions. I don’t have the answer.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="It&#039;s Giving...Showing Love To My Wife Doesn&#039;t Make Me Weak, It Makes Me Strong! With @snoopdogg" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bB6JDlXhAoE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Lightyear” caused a controversy leading up to its release due to the inclusion of a same-sex kiss, which was initially edited out, then restored in response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” by several legacy media outlets and leftists.
The film earned a paltry $226.4 million against a $200 million budget, meaning it likely lost money after factoring in marketing and other expenses. One Disney exec speculated in 2023 that the movie was a flop because they “asked too much of the audience” by doing a concept film based on the beloved “Toy Story” franchise. But critics say the boycotts and negative press surrounding the gay storyline were likely also a factor.
Many of Snoop’s left-wing followers are furious over his statements, evidenced by their insistence that he should be replaced as the headliner at the upcoming Australian Football League’s Grand Final, per <a href="https://ew.com/snoop-dogg-criticizes-lgbtq-representation-in-childrens-films-11796606">Entertainment Weekly</a>. 
This isn’t the first time critics have been angry. The rapper also caught heat for performing at a celebratory event before President Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg Calls Out Hollywood For LGBT Themes In Children’s Films: ‘They’re Putting It Everywhere’

Snoop Dogg Calls Out Hollywood For LGBT Themes In Children’s Films: 'They're Putting It Everywhere' 

LGBT

Lightyear

Anti-woke voices share a social media saying when sanity returns to the culture, be it acknowledging that sex sells in ads or proof that Cancel Culture is on the run.
Nature is healing.
That rings true regarding the saga of Gina Carano. The MMA standout-turned-action heroine had it all – a burgeoning career, the adoration of fans and a plum gig on Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.”
Then Disney fired her for “problematic” social media posts.
Carano just settled her lawsuit against the Mouse House with the suggestion that the two sides might work together on future projects. She didn’t land a knockout legal blow but staring down arguably the biggest company in Hollywood proved a victory all the same.
You might call it a healing moment.
She wasn’t destined for movie stardom, at least not during her MMA days. As fate would have it, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh saw something in Carano while watching her on TV. He eventually crafted an action thriller around her beauty and brawn via 2011’s “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1506999/">Haywire</a>.”
<div id="attachment_958907" style="width: 991px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-958907" class="wp-image-958907 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-981x576.jpg" alt="BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 15: Actors Antonio Banderas and Gina Carano attend the &quot;Haywire&quot; Press Conference during day seven of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival at the Grand Hyatt on February 15, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)" width="981" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-981x576.jpg 981w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-300x176.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-768x451.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 981px) 100vw, 981px" />Sean Gallup/Getty Images</div>
The film <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1506999/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">wasn’t a smash</a>, but it proved she could act alongside established stars like Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, and Michael Fassbender. The Hollywood door creaked open.
She kept working on screen, landing notable roles in “Deadpool,” “Fast &amp; Furious 6” and “Extraction.”
And then came “The Mandalorian.” Disney finally got the “Star Wars” magic right with the TV series starring Pedro Pascal as the title character. She joined the cast as Cara Dune, a loner seeking vengeance against the Empire for terminating her home planet of Alderaan. She quickly became a fan favorite, and buzz began to build that Disney+ would spin off her character into her own show.
Carano says “Mandalorian” director Jon Favreau of “Iron Man” fame told her, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/gina-carano-interview-madalorian-firing-elon-musk-disney-1235851597/">“your life is about to change.”</a>
<div id="attachment_958915" style="width: 862px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-958915" class="size-large wp-image-958915" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-852x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 13: (L-R) Ming-Na Wen, Pedro Pascal, Executive Producer Jon Favreau, Executive Producer/Director Dave Filoni, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Executive Producer Kathleen Kennedy and Werner Herzog arrive at the premiere of Lucasfilm's first-ever, live-action series, &quot;The Mandalorian,&quot; at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on November 13, 2019. &quot;The Mandalorian&quot; streams exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)" width="852" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-852x576.jpg 852w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-300x203.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-768x519.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px" />Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney</div>
She was this close to stardom, the kind young actors can only dream about. Except Carano didn’t follow Hollywood’s progressive playbook. She wasn’t openly conservative, but she began questioning COVID-19 protocols on social media, echoing the thoughts of many Americans but not the Legacy Media or the Left.
She pushed for election reform, noting how fellow Americans lacked trust in the current system. Once again, a fairly mainstream view was suddenly deemed out of bounds following President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Donald Trump.
She considered putting up a black square following the death of George Floyd, but she didn’t want to follow the crowd with empty posturing.
Worst of all to the woke Left, she refused to put her pronouns in her social media bio, instead using a trio of silly words – Beep/Bop/Boop.
The Left went into a frenzy over that stunt, while she defended her actions as a stand against <a href="https://x.com/ginacarano/status/1305301756792860674">social media bullying</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Beep/bop/boop has zero to do with mocking trans people 🤍&amp; 💯 to do with exposing the bullying mentality of the mob that has taken over the voices of many genuine causes.
I want people to know you can take hate with a smile. So BOOP you for misunderstanding. 😊 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllLoveNoHate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllLoveNoHate</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qe48AiZyOL">pic.twitter.com/Qe48AiZyOL</a>
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) <a href="https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1305301756792860674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @ginacarano/X
Carano later revealed that Team Disney stepped in, asking her to stop sharing her thoughts online. She added the company put her through media training and even wanted to set up a Zoom meeting between the starlet and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/gina-carano-interview-madalorian-firing-elon-musk-disney-1235851597/">45 LGBTQ+ Disney employees</a>, all angry at her refusal to share her pronouns.
Carano declined the offer, instead suggesting she have dinner with a much smaller group to reach across the cultural aisle. They refused, she contends.
Disney seemingly craved an excuse to cut ties with Carano. The company got it when she shared a plea for tolerance that evoked Nazi Germany.
<blockquote>Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors … even by children … Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?</blockquote>
Disney used the post as a pretext for termination. Disney&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gina-carano-lucasfilm-which-fired-her-pushing-her-for-an-emmy">explanation for her dismissal</a> angered many fans.
<blockquote>Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.</blockquote>
One problem? The post did no such thing. Another problem? Fellow Disney stars said far worse on social media sans punishment. 
Many called out Pascal for a post comparing <a href="https://ewerickson.substack.com/p/meet-the-double-standard-in-cancel">Trump voters to Nazis.</a>
Left unsaid? Disney worked with Bette Midler on “Hocus Pocus 2” following Carano’s dismissal, but Midler’s social media posts can be <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/disney-cancel-bette-midler-hocus-pocus-2/">cruel and dehumanizing</a>.
Disney opted not to punish either star or put them through media training.
Carano stopped working in traditional Hollywood. She next starred in The Daily Wire’s original western “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/terror-on-the-prairie?row=0&amp;elementPosition=28&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel">Terror on the Prairie</a>” – a deal signed days after Disney’s dismissal. She also landed a small part in “My Son Hunter,” a Breitbart original film about Hunter Biden directed by Robert Davi.
<div id="attachment_395948" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395948" class="wp-image-395948 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-1024x576.jpeg" alt="Gina Carano in &quot;Terror on the Prairie.&quot; The Daily Wire/Bonfire Legend" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-2048x1152.jpeg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Gina Carano in &#8220;Terror on the Prairie.&#8221; The Daily Wire/Bonfire Legend</div>
Her career appeared to be over, at least within official Hollywood corridors. Then Elon Musk caught wind of her story and offered to pay for Carano to sue Disney for wrongful termination.
That powerful backing made all the difference. <a href="https://people.com/gina-carano-settles-lawsuit-disney-mandalorian-firing-thanks-elon-musk-11787322">Disney’s official statement</a> following the settlement suggests she might return to the “Star Wars” galaxy at some point. A “Mandalorian” feature film is tentatively slated for a May 2026 release.
<blockquote>Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect… With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.</blockquote>
It’s unclear if Hollywood, still a relentlessly liberal enclave that discriminates against some conservatives, will hire Carano for new projects.
By standing firm and defending her right to speak freely, however, she can hold her head high no matter the direction her acting career takes from here.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

FAN EXPO Canada 2024

The Rebel Returns: The Vindication Of Gina Carano

Acting

Cancel Culture

Elon Musk

Gina Carano

Hollywood

Star Wars

The Mandalorian

Years after firing Gina Carano from the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian” in 2021, Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company have settled their dispute.
“The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies,” a Lucasfilm spokesperson said in a statement, per <a href="https://variety.com/2025/biz/news/gina-carano-disney-settle-mandalorian-firing-1236481982/">Variety</a>. 
“Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect. With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future,” the statement continued.
Carano reacted to the settlement with a <a href="https://x.com/ginacarano/status/1953575719554232400">post</a> on X, thanking Elon Musk and her lawyers.  “I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome,” she wrote. “I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career, you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm <a href="https://twitter.com/Disney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@disney</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Lucasfilm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lucasfilm</a> which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved. I hope this brings some healing to the force.
I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> a man I’ve never met,… <a href="https://t.co/qiAX7W1vgf">https://t.co/qiAX7W1vgf</a>
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) <a href="https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1953575719554232400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me,” Carano concluded. “Yes, I’m smiling.”
The actress was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-rules-against-disneys-motion-to-dismiss-gina-caranos-wrongful-termination-suit?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Judge+Rules+Against+Disney%E2%80%99s+Motion+To+Dismiss+Gina+Carano%E2%80%99s+Wrongful+Termination+Suit">axed by Disney</a> in 2021 after she posted a screenshot of another social media post that warned of the political climate at the time resembling Nazi Germany. 
Her post said, “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children. Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”
Disney faced massive backlash for its actions against Carano, while some of the actress’s fellow castmates defended her.
Shortly after the high-profile termination, Carano partnered with The Daily Wire for a movie deal that resulted in the feature film “Terror on the Prairie,” which premiered in June 2022.

‘Yes, I’m Smiling’: Disney Settles Lawsuit With Gina Carano Over ‘Mandalorian’ Firing

Disney Settles Lawsuit With Gina Carano Over 'Mandalorian' Firing

Lawsuit

Disney-Pixar&#8217;s latest box office bomb &#8220;Elio&#8221; was supposed to be even worse, according to a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/elio-pixar-america-ferrera-director-queer-2-1236301860/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published Monday by The Hollywood Reporter — but a number of elements were cut after a screening of the film went nowhere with the audience.
The movie&#8217;s titular character was originally written as &#8220;queer-coded&#8221; — a nod to the film&#8217;s original openly-gay director Adrian Molina — with photos in Elio&#8217;s bedroom that suggested he was crushing on a boy, and a scene where he shows off the clothing he created from trash he found on the beach.
Vestiges of the latter scene remained in the finished product, as THR reported: &#8220;Hints at the trash fashion remain in the released film, with the boy wearing a cape decorated with discarded cutlery and soda can tabs, although without any explanation for the unusual attire.&#8221;
Some of the elements were whittled away throughout the production process, as leadership reportedly pressed for Elio to be more masculine.
But still, the writing was on the wall after a screening that took place in Arizona back in 2023. Not one person in the audience, despite several saying they enjoyed the film, said that they would pony up the cash to see it in a theater.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pixar massively changed ‘ELIO’ after the original cut was test screened &amp; not a single person raised their hand when asked if they’d pay to see the film in a movie theater
Elio was also initially a queer-coded character until leadership told them to make him more masculine… <a href="https://t.co/3VReaNSSQW">pic.twitter.com/3VReaNSSQW</a>
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) <a href="https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1939809054638932454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Things did not go better for Molina when a cut of the film was viewed by Pixar boss Pete Docter, and he left the project. New directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi took over, and although a number of those associated with the project said good things about Sharafian and Shi, they complained about the fate of the film.
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&#8220;I was deeply saddened and aggrieved by the changes that were made,” former Pixar assistant editor Sarah Ligatich, a member of the company’s internal LGBTQ group PixPRIDE, said. &#8220;The exodus of talent after that cut was really indicative of how unhappy a lot of people were that they had changed and destroyed this beautiful work.&#8221;
Another Pixar artist who asked to remain anonymous told THR, &#8220;It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer &#8230; Suddenly, you remove this big, key piece, which is all about identity, and &#8216;Elio&#8217; just becomes about totally nothing. The &#8216;Elio&#8217; that is in theaters right now is far worse than Adrian’s best version of the original.&#8221;

Elio

Pixar Bomb ‘Elio’ Was Supposed To Be Super Gay, Only Changed After Dismal Screening

LGBTQ

Pixar

Politics

queer

After his five-year-old daughter fell overboard, a father dove off a Disney Dream cruise ship in a dramatic rescue, officials said.
The four-night cruise was returning to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday after making a trip to Disney’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas. 
The father&#8217;s name has not been publicly released, but passenger Gar Frantz said he was on the fourth-floor deck when the incident occurred. He said he saw a child sitting on the railing of the cruise ship while a man took a picture, then the child fell overboard.
“We watched it, you could see two little things. &#8230; It was crazy, it was horrific,” Frantz said of seeing the tragedy unfold, per <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/disney-dream-overboard-rescue-rcna215994">NBC News</a>.
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Another passenger, Gail Merrick, told the outlet that she saw and heard the commotion and noticed a yellow lifeboat in the water. 
“We came to find out that it was a child and then the father had gone in after the child, so we were watching with bated breath basically waiting for what would happen,” Merrick said.
A witness on the ship described the sound of the child hitting the water, per <a href="https://people.com/disney-cruise-passenger-describes-moment-dad-jumps-overboard-after-daughter-11764056">People</a>. “It sounded like hitting pavement, nothing like if you jump into a pool, it was so loud,” the woman, identified only as Chandler, told the outlet. “Then this awful scream from what I assume is the mother and then this massive splash.” 
She also uploaded <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lifeofchandler/video/7521737117475573047?_r=1&amp;_t=ZT-8xe4AJfSHTT">footage</a> of the rescue to TikTok.
Disney confirmed that the cruise ship crew “swiftly rescued two guests from the water.”
“We commend our Crew Members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes,” a statement from the company said. “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”

Disney Dream cruise ship

Hero Dad Leaps From Disney Cruise To Save Daughter In Daring Ocean Rescue

Father Jumps Off Disney Cruise Ship To Save Daughter Who Fell Overboard: Report

Atlantic Ocean

United States

Disney and Pixar&#8217;s latest offering is lagging well behind box office expectations — and the animation studio isn&#8217;t taking it sitting down.
“Elio” has earned just $35 million worldwide since its June 20 release, a record-low for Pixar. The film — which addresses themes like childhood and social isolation through the story of &#8220;Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession&#8221; — only brought in $21 million in ticket sales during its first three days in theaters.
In response to the disappointing numbers, Pixar shared a snarky post on its official Instagram account.
In the video, a woman addresses the reaction to &#8220;Elio,&#8221; which isn’t a remake or sequel, saying “Stop complaining that Disney doesn’t make original stories if you don’t show up to movie theaters and support them in the first place.”
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“Who… who said that?” a woman in her car says by way of reaction. “Oh my gosh, I thought I was the only one in my car. But anyway, there’s a new original story,” she continued, holding up a photo of the movie poster.
“Look at that, from Disney-Pixar, called Elio,” she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLaQFO-yad-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went on</a>. “You should go ahead and support it, it comes out this Friday so yeah, you should go to the movie theater, thank you.”
Commenters on the Instagram post noted the lack of marketing for the film, which they indicated may have contributed to the lackluster results.
“Maybe actually market the movie then???” one comment read.
“Some marketing would&#8217;ve helped… but yes it deserves way better; it&#8217;s such a good movie!!” another commenter echoed.
“I think what drove people away from this one was reusing that same animation style. So many people are wanting something different and we’ve now gotten it quite a few times with movies and shorts,” another person wrote.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m beyond excited to see this new movie! I think it’s just time to switch up the animation again. Also there was barely any marketing for the movie,” a third said.
“Elio” is the latest in a long line of Disney flops, but there have also been several success stories, including the live action remake of “Lilo &amp; Stitch,” which earned over $945 million worldwide.

Pixar Blames Fans For ‘Elio’ Flopping, Says ‘Stop Complaining’ About Lack Of Original Content

Pixar Blames Fans For 'Elio' Flopping, Says 'Stop Complaining' About Lack Of Original Content

Animation

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