(DailyVantage.com) – As Pride Month approaches, various businesses, including Disney, plan to celebrate the LGTBQ-based recognition period through various methods. Disney announced it would start streaming a new gay dating show during Pride Month, which will air on Hulu on June 15. The dating show is named “I Kissed a Boy!” and will feature ten gay men who must kiss one another before they can begin dating.
While Disney plans to unveil the controversial dating program during the first few weeks of June, the entertainment giant also plans to release a spin-off show focusing on lesbians instead of gay men. The spin-off show, “I Kissed A Girl!,” is currently in preproduction and does not have an estimated release date. The two dating shows are the latest push by Disney to release LGTBQ-related content to its streaming audiences, a trend that many within the entertainment industry expect to continue over the next few years.
Disney has been openly supportive of the LGTBQ movement and even attempted to sue the state of Florida over Governor Ron DeSantis’s Parent Rights in Education bill. The entertainment giant has also started including more LGTBQ characters in movies and television shows, much to the dissatisfaction of conservative moviegoers. Disney has even begun producing LGTBQ-themed clothing with a new clothing line called the Disney Pride Collection. Despite Disney’s push for more inclusivity in its content and merchandise, Disney CEO Bob Iger seems hesitant to continue openly supporting the LGTBQ message, given the potential threat to Disney’s profits.
Iger recently announced that Disney would start limiting its use of social messages in its merchandise and content, likely in response to its poor performance throughout 2023. Throughout 2023, Disney faced multiple financial setbacks, including layoffs and multiple failures at the box office with expensive films. Investors took notice of Disney’s declining success last year and threatened to withdraw from the entertainment company unless it regained its massive profits from years prior.
Disney’s declining success has also resulted in heavy internal restructuring, including replacing Iger as the chief executive officer. Iger has confirmed that he would step down from his position in the near future, likely by 2025. Business experts cite Disney’s poor financial success in 2022 and 2023 as the primary motivator for replacing the entertainment giant’s executives. Despite other entertainment businesses like Netflix and Amazon regaining lost profits from 2021 and 2022, Disney’s earnings from 2024 remain approximately $170 billion lower than its 2021 estimate of $375.15 billion.
Copyright 2024, DailyVantage.com
