LGBTQ+ organizations have been silent after the revelation that Disney’s “Pride Collection” fashion line was manufactured in China, a country whose government regards homosexuality as a mental disorder and harvests much of its cotton supply using slave labor.
Not one of the 17 LGBTQ+ organizations receiving donations from the proceeds Disney’s “Pride Collection” fashion line returned a request for comment, even after Breitbart News provided links to several news stories showing China’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda and reports of Uyghur Muslim slave labor. Breitbart News asked each organization if they still support Disney’s fashion line, are accepting donations from the line, and whether they can still support the LGBTQ+ community while also collaborating with a company that manufactured clothing in a country actively working against LGBTQ+ people.
- Ali Forney Center
- GLSEN
- LGBTQ Center OC*
- Los Angeles LGBT Center*
- PFLAG National
- SF LGBT Center*
- The Trevor Project
- Zebra Coalition*
- ARELAS
- BeLonG To Youth Services
- diversity München e.V.
- Diversity Role Models
- Famiglie Arcobaleno
- MAG Jeunes LGBT+
- It Gets Better
- Minus18
- Nijiiro Diversity
Breitbart News obtained apparel from the collection, which had “Made in China” labels. At least one of those items is made from 100-percent cotton, which may have been sourced from slave-labor regions in China, though it remains unclear.
Pride-Themed Disney woven shirt, Breitbart News
The company launched the apparel line this month and promised to donate all profits through June 30 to groups that support “LGBTQIA+ youth and families.” The “Pride” merchandise is made for adults and children and features rainbow-themed motifs mixed with popular Disney brands like Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997; however, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) still has an unfavorable view of gay people and restricts displays of alleged “homosexual” or “effeminate” behavior.
As Breitbart News previously reported:
Communist leaders announced in September a ban on “sissy” or “girlie” men in entertainment in an effort to promote masculinity among the country’s young men.
Last year, a Chinese court ruled that the printing of the words “homosexuality is a psychological disorder,” which appeared in a university textbook used in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, was “not an error.”
The Communist Party has also allied itself with the Taliban, with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping recently praising the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” of Afghanistan. The Taliban persecute LGBT people and women and girls generally, subjecting the former to torture, imprisonment, and even execution.
Disney’s “Pride Collection” about-page shows how each organization intends the donations. For example, Los Angeles LGBT Center plans to use the funds to “supplement existing support for Orange County schools and school districts, where the Center has partnered with over 50 Gender and Sexualities Alliances or Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) student Clubs.” GLSEN said it would use to the funds to “deepen the impact of student leadership programs and racial equity capacity-building…”
Other organizations, like the Zebra Coalition in Orlando, Florida, intends to use the donations “to expand housing and services for LGBTQ+ youth.”
Disney’s relationship with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) recently erupted after the company lobbied against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which bars the teaching of sexual orientation and gender ideology, including transgenderism, to children in kindergarten through third grade. Despite bi-partisan support among Florida voters, Disney CEO Bob Chapek vowed to fight to repeal the law.
In response, Florida stripped Disney of its self-governing privileges in Orlando, potentially exposing the company to new taxes and government regulations.
Ron DeSantis / RumbleDeSantis’s campaign called out the hypocrisy of Walt Disney Co. after it was discovered that apparel from its LGBTQ-themed “Pride Collection” fashion line is actually made in China.
“It’s hypocritical, but it’s not surprising, that a woke company like Disney would threaten the rights of parents in Florida but would happily do business with the Chinese Communist Party – one of the world’s worst human rights abusers,” a campaign spokesperson told Breitbart News exclusively.
The Walt Disney Co. is also reportedly working to expand its business into anti-gay countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal.
David NG and Jerome Hudson contributed to this report.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.