Chris Evans brands critics of Lightyear’s same-sex kiss as ‘idiots’
Captain America has no time for casual homophobia!
Words: Emily Maskell; pictures: Instagram/@chrisevans and Disney
Chris Evans, the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story spin-off prequel Lightyear, has said the “real truth” about critics of the film’s same-sex kiss is that they are “idiots.”
Speaking to Reuters ahead of Lightyear’s UK cinematic release on Friday (17 June), the Captain America actor, 41, added that “every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good.”
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Chris, whose brother Scott is gay, also said: “There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs.
“I think the goal is to pay them no mind, march forward and embrace the growth that makes us human.”
Evans’ comments come after Variety reported earlier this year that Disney had originally cut the kiss between two female characters from the film.
However, the scene was reinstated after a protest by Disney and Pixar employees.
A statement pointed to the cutting of “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection,” adding, “even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”
In Lightyear, the same-sex kiss is between one of the film’s lead woman characters, Hawthorne (voiced by Orange is the New Black‘s Uzo Aduba), and a woman she is in a meaningful relationship with.
With the same-sex kiss scene kept in the film, the film has been banned in 14 countries including the United Arab Emirates. It’s also thought the movie won’t play in China for the same reason.
Earlier this year Disney refused to cut brief LGBTQ references from Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
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