Charlee asserted that the bill will isolate young people and cause them to feel uncomfortable in their skin.
In his first public appearance as a transgender man, the heir to Disney’s fortune takes aim at the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” regulation. The heirs have expressed regret for not doing more to speak out against the Florida bill, which is the first time the topic has been addressed publicly since their father declared to the world that he was the father of a transgender child.
Since coming out as transgender male who addresses his family with the pronouns ‘they/theirs’ four years ago, Charlee Corra Disney, 30, a high school biology and environmental science teacher, has gained national attention. After years of remaining out of the public eye, Charlee and her family were thrust into the limelight this week when their father, Roy P Disney, grandson of the company’s co-founder and great-nephew to Walt, made a statement announcing their daughter was transgender.
On March 12, 2022, in Los Angeles, California, Charlee Corra Disney addresses onstage during the Human Rights Campaign’s 2022 Los Angeles Dinner, which will be held at the JW Marriott. (Image courtesy of Randy Shropshire/Getty Images) )
According to Roy and his wife, Sheri, donations to the Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest LGBTQ advocacy organisation in the country, will be matched up to a maximum of $500,000. The father added in a statement that “equality is extremely important to us, especially given our child, Charlee, is transgender and is an active member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Charlee expressed her displeasure with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ signing of the controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill on Sunday, April 10, in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. The bill, which prohibits the discussion of homosexuality or transgender issues in classrooms for children up to third grade, was signed by DeSantis. Charlee expressed her displeasure with the measure and expressed regret that they had not done more to fight it at the time it was introduced.
“I feel like I don’t contribute much to the cause,” Charlee admitted. “I don’t make phone calls to senators or do any other action. I had the impression that I could be doing more.” In her opinion, the bill will isolate young people and make them feel uncomfortable in their own skin, according to Charlee.
According to Charlee, “I had very few openly gay role models” when she was growing up. Her mother recalls Charlee, when she was two or three years old, yanking her away from the small girls’ shoe area and saying: “But mom, I’m a male on the inside.” He went on to say, “Aside from that, I didn’t have any trans or nonbinary role models growing up. I didn’t see myself reflected in anyone, and this made me believe that there was something wrong with myself, which was incorrect.”
The comments of Charlee and her sister, as well as their parents’ grant, come amid a months-long standoff between Disney and the state of Florida, where the company employs 77,000 people. During the standoff, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has been criticised by his employees for not being vocal enough, and the state has threatened Disney’s position in the state in response.
In response to Walt Disney World’s vocal opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, some Republican legislators in Florida are now considering revoking a 1955 statute that grants the company the authority to regulate itself. On April 1, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis proposed terminating Disney’s special arrangement with the state, and Florida House Representative David Price agreed.
Also on Twitter, Republican Spencer Roach said that lawmakers had conducted two sessions to explore repealing the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which he described as “permitting Disney to function as its own government.”