7 LGBTQ+ Storylines And Moments That Were Censored Or Dropped By Executives And Studios

Happy Pride! The world is on fire.

Nickelodeon / Via giphy.com

Due to the efforts of some homophobic and transphobic hate gremlins, it's a difficult time for queer folks right now. Between legislature designed to punish young people for being trans — according to the Human Rights Campaign, of the more than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed this year, over 130 "specifically target transgender people" — and ban teachers from even mentioning the existence of LGBTQ+ people in their classrooms — thank you for nothing, Ron — it's been a banner year for bigoted bullshit.

That sort of bigoted bullshit is making its presence known in the arts as well as in the courts. The American Library Association reported that half of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2021 were targeted for containing "LGBTQIA+ content." And over in Hollywood, employees of Pixar called out Disney for cutting "nearly every moment of overtly gay affection" from its films.

More on that momentarily.

On its own, pop culture can't organize protests, support LGBTQIA+ youth, or fight back. That work falls to us, the members of the community and our allies. But what we see on screen does make an impact, and for a young person questioning their identity and unsure of who to talk to about it, a character or storyline can be their first lifeline to the queer experience. But unfortunately, those same characters or storylines have historically been the target of cuts and censorship, for fear of pissing off parents, advertisers, and — scariest of all — people with an email account and too much time on their hands.

Here are seven examples of times networks, studios, and other industry power players censored or altered LGBTQ+ storylines.

1.In March 2022, Variety reported on a letter from "the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar and their allies" written in response to Disney CEO Bob Chapek's memo about Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. In the memo, Chapek wrote, "And because this struggle is much bigger than any one bill in any one state, I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support." But according to the Pixar employees, Disney has been antagonistic toward queer content.

Here's a quick refresher on the "Don't Say Gay" bill: According to NPR, the bill was signed into law by Florida governor Ron DeSantis in March. It barred public school teachers from speaking about sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms, while also requiring that school officials inform parents of "any health or support services offered to their kids in school," which The Trevor Project commented could "effectively require teachers to 'out' LGBTQ students to their legal guardians without their consent, regardless of whether they are supportive."

Disney and its leadership was the subject of criticism during the bill's path to becoming a law, both for delaying an outright condemnation and for donating money to the bill's supporters. When Chapek said that Disney would donate to LGBTQ+ rights organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, HRC interim president Joni Madison responded with a statement refusing the donation until Disney demonstrated the depth of its commitment to equality.

The statement read in part, "The Human Rights Campaign will not accept this money from Disney until we see them build on their public commitment and work with LGBTQ+ advocates to ensure that dangerous proposals, like Florida’s Don’t Say Gay or Trans bill, don’t become dangerous laws, and if they do, to work to get them off the books. ... While Disney took a regrettable stance by choosing to stay silent amid political attacks against LGBTQ+ families in Florida — including hardworking families employed by Disney — today they took a step in the right direction. But it was merely the first step."

And according to the folks at Pixar, that first step was a long time coming. In their response to Chapek's statement, the Pixar employees wrote, "We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were. Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney’s behest, regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it."

2.In an interview with IGN, Oscar Isaac said that he pushed for the close relationship between his Star Wars character Poe Dameron and ex-stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) to develop into a romance, but said that the "Disney overlords" weren't on board with the idea.

Isaac said, "I think there could have been a very interested, forward-thinking — not even forward-thinking, just like current thinking — love story there, something that hadn't quite been explored yet, particularly the dynamic between these two men in war that could've fallen in love with each other."

He went on, "I would try to push it a bit in that direction, but the Disney overlords were not ready to do that."

3.In a 2017 interview with the Mary Sue, Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch spoke about his fight with Disney's censors to include a scene of two older women falling in love and kissing in the episode "The Love God."

When a storyboard artist included the two women in a scene, Hirsch said he knew that the "sweet and casual" moment was "going to turn into a huge fight with Disney." When he left it in the episode anyway, Disney came back with a note: "The scene of the two old ladies kissing in the diner is not appropriate for our audience. Please revise."

When Hirsch asked why that was, he said the question "broke the censors," who set up a phone conversation with him so they didn't "leave a paper trail." Hirsch explained, "They were terrified of sounding like bigots — but I honestly don’t think they were bigots, I think they were cowards."

He pointed out that despite Disney's status as a powerful corporation, they were afraid of getting pushback from homophobic viewers. Hirsch wanted to keep the moment anyway, because "little things like this could mean the world to people" and "anyone who was pissed off deserved to be pissed off," but after six meetings with the censors, it became clear they weren't going to budge, and the moment was cut.

However, when Hirsch decided to have two same-sex characters declare their love for each other in the series finale, he didn't receive a "single note." He joked, "I think the censors were finally less scared of complaining parents than they were of having to deal with how annoying I am again."

4.According to a tweet from Criminal Minds creator Jeff Davis, he originally intended to characterize Dr. Spencer Reid as bisexual, but did not after receiving "push back from the powers that be."

Davis wrote, "Fun fact for Criminal Minds fans. I was originally planning for Reid to be bi. That got shut down by 4th episode with his crush on JJ." JJ is a friend of Reid's and a fellow FBI agent.

In a follow-up tweet, Davis made it clear he knew that being bisexual, by definition, doesn't preclude a man from having a crush on a woman. He wrote, "To clarify: I know what bisexual is. I'm a gay man myself. I got push back from the powers that be."

5.James Gunn, who wrote the screenplay for the 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo, as well as its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, responded to a fan asking for a "live-action lesbian Velma" on Twitter by writing, "I tried!"

In the same tweet, he explained, "In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel)."

6.In an interview with Insider, Sean Jara, the creator of the animated Nickelodeon superhero series Mysticons, described how a kiss between two female characters, Zarya Moonwolf and Kitty Boon, got cut from an episode due to concerns of an unnamed production partner.

Jara said that when he submitted the script for approval, the studio, network, and other production partners "weren't fighting it. We got no notes on it." But while Nickelodeon was supportive, the unnamed partner wouldn't give the green light. Jara recalled, "There was no convincing [them to change their mind]. And, as a result, we were told we have to take the kiss out." He added, "We almost had to unravel the whole love story, but I fought for that like, 'Listen, it's too late.'"

In a series of tweets from 2018, Jara confirmed that the kiss being left on the cutting room floor did not mean that the characters weren't in love. He wrote, "That said, while we were forced to cut the kiss, we DID manage to keep the integrity of the love story intact (in the episode and throughout the entire series). It’s a beautiful love story that my 7-year-old daughter recognized as such. ... It’s a shame we couldn’t make the kiss happen because physical expressions of love between LGBTQ characters on TV help to show youth that it’s ABSOLUTELY NORMAL! In the case of our show, the cut of the kiss has less to do with evil people and more to do with systemic homophobia that exists in the kids TV industry."

The studio, Nelvana, told Insider that they could "regrettably" confirm Jara's account. Their statement read in part, "We acknowledge that broadcast television has long been confined by conservative parameters for storytellers and it is our responsibility, as producers and broadcasters, to ensure we foster an inclusive ecosystem for creative storytelling with diversity and inclusion at the forefront."

7.And finally: Arthur celebrated the premiere of its 22nd season with a wedding between Mr. Ratburn and his partner, Patrick. However, according to Vulture, Alabama Public Television didn't air it.

One parent disappointed about the decision to air a rerun instead of the actual episode, "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone," told Al.com, "There’s too much going on not to stand up for stuff, even if it’s Arthur. I never thought I’d be going to battle for a gay rat wedding, but here we are."

(By the way, you can watch the whole episode for free on the PBS Kids YouTube channel.)

Looking for more ways to get involved? Check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2022.