Disney employee Nicholas Maldonado holds a sign during a protest outside Walt Disney World on March 22, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Employees are walking across the company today in protest of Walt Disney Co.’s response to a controversial law passed in Florida known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Octavio Jones | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As tensions between the Walt Disney Company and Florida lawmakers escalate, the entertainment giant, along with three other major media companies, will announce a new public service announcement from GLAAD featuring a transgender teenager calling for nationwide support for LGBTQ youth.
PSA centers on Texas mother Amber Brigel and her son Max.
“If you haven’t met a transgender child before, all I want to know is that the child is no different from you,” Briggs said in the announcement. “They have the same hopes and dreams and deserve the same equality as you.”
The video was launched at a time when several states were proposing and passing bills that many saw as detrimental to LGBTQ youth. These include laws such as the Florida HB 1557 Act, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, as well as a recently banned Texas guideline that calls for an investigation into the abuse of children by parents of transgender children.
The new PSA will be broadcast by outlets owned by Disney, Comcast, WarnerMedia and Paramount.
Disney’s participation comes at a time when company executives are working to be more aggressive in advocating for LGBTQ rights. CEO Bob Chepec, in particular, came under investigation last month for not publicly opposing the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” law until it was passed in the Florida Senate.
The company has promised to help repeal new legislation that prohibits guidelines on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools from kindergarten to third grade.
Republican Gov. Ron Desantis has criticized Disney since its executives called the company a “wick” and threatened to repeal the Ready Creek Improvement Act of 1967, which would allow Disney to act as its own government from the outside. Boundary between Orange and Oceola counties in Florida.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.