Disney Cartoon's 'Unbiblical' Gay Kisses Prompt One Million Moms Petition
Disney's portrayal of gay characters kissing on a popular cartoon show has prompted One Million Moms to launch a petition against the media giant. Meanwhile, evangelists Ray Comfort and Ken Ham have invited children to come visit the Ark Encounter as an alternative.
"Alerting all parents! In a first for the Disney Channel, a Disney XD show subtly displayed several gay kisses in an episode that aired a couple of days ago," One Million Moms said in its petition, signed by over 32,000 people as of Friday morning.
The recent "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" episode in question depicted gay couples kissing among others during a boy band concert, which has been reported as the first on-screen same-sex PDA on a Disney cartoon show.
The conservative group argued that Disney has been "under pressure" by the gay community to portray openly gay relationships.
"This is the last place parents would expect their children to be confronted with content regarding sexual orientation. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, and it is becoming extremely common and unnecessary," the petition reads.
Disney has said that its brand has "always been inclusive, with stories that reflect acceptance and tolerance and celebrate the differences that make our characters uniquely wonderful in their own way."
Christian figures such as Ken Ham, a young earth creationist who is the CEO of the Ark Encounter, the life-sized Noah's Ark theme park in Kentucky, are urging parents not to support the "unbiblical" company.
"They're redefining the family—do you want to entrust your kids to be influenced by Disney?" Ham asked parents in a Facebook post.
"Take the kids to real family-friendly attractions like the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum," he encouraged. "These two family attractions honor and stay true to God's Word in all areas, including marriage and gender."
Ray Comfort, of Living Waters Publications, agreed, and wrote: "Instead of visiting Disney, go to Ken Ham's Ark. It's incredible."
The same-sex cartoon kisses preceded news that the upcoming live-action "Beauty and the Beast" film remake will include an "exclusively gay moment" on screen for the first time in the company's history.
Bill Condon, the film's director, said that actor Josh Gad, who portrays LeFou, the sidekick to the film's villain Gaston, "breaks new ground when it comes to LGBT visibility," adding that he "makes something really subtle and delicious out of it."
"[I]t is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie," Condon described, without giving away details.
Evangelist and President of Samaritan's Purse Franklin Graham slammed the revelation, however, calling it an attempt to "push the LGBT agenda" on children.
"Disney has the right to make their cartoons, it's a free country," Graham wrote on Facebook. "But as Christians we also have the right not to support their company. I hope Christians everywhere will say no to Disney."