Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘People Are Really Fired Up’: Christians to Protest Disney Outside Company Headquarters in California

AP Photo/John Raoux
AP Photo/John Raoux
Share Tweet
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

April 6, 2022

The twin theme parks at the center of the late Walt Disney’s fantastical imagination — Disneyland and Magic Kingdom — have found themselves twisted in a tale unfolding in the modern era.

In what could be described as a faith-fueled clap back, former worship leader-turned-activist Sean Feucht and a crowd of fellow conservatives and Christians — some of whom are former and even current Disney employees — are descending on The Walt Disney Company headquarters in Burbank, California, Wednesday evening to protest the beloved brand’s perceived attack on parents through the targeting of their children.

Disney sparked parents’ ire when it issued a full-throated condemnation of a parental rights bill in Florida, home to the entertainment behemoth’s sprawling 25,000-acre Walt Disney World Resort — a space so vast it has its own zip code and so popular it’s home to what has been reported as the third busiest restaurant in the world.

“Parents across America were blindsided by the fact that Disney would enable people that are fighting for the sexualization of children, starting in kindergarten,” Feucht told CBN’s Faithwire. “We’re talking about 4-year-olds. It’s one thing to make content. It’s another thing to fight for those that want to groom and sexualize kids.”

Disney was already facing an uphill battle, with many middle-class families finding a trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth financially out of reach. Add to the mix the company’s perceived attack on its core audience — families with young children — and the nearly-100-year-old American mainstay could find itself in a whole new world of trouble.

Listen to the latest episode of the Faithwire podcast 👇

Alas, Disney CEO Bob Chapek chose to wade into the political fight.

Chapek initially refused to take a stance on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which has been mischaracterized by leftist groups and members of the media, who erroneously tagged the bill with the moniker “Don’t Say Gay,” despite the fact that the text of the legislation does not include the word “gay” and in no way outlaws its use. After taking heat for declining to intensely condemn the bill, which was recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the Disney chief executive waged a PR battle against the legislation, which prohibits educators from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation from pre-K through third grade.

In late March, The Walt Disney Company released a statement announcing its “goal” to see the parental rights bill “repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts,” adding it “remain[s] committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that.”

Feucht, who lives in California, said he felt he had to do something to strike back against Disney’s empire.

“A lot of people are really fired up,” he said, noting it’s critical for believers to take a stand on this issue. “[I] think Christians sometimes — they get way too soft. They don’t realize that they’re powerful. We have a voice that can change things economically for Disney. We have a voice that can change things politically in this country. … We’re called to be salt and light in every part of society. So when issues like this happen, we don’t just back down; we have to stand up.”

The demonstration Wednesday comes amid sparring inside Disney from two warring factions: Those who feel the company ought to dig in even deeper in its opposition to the Florida bill and its embrace of LGBT identities and those who desire an apolitical brand focused on creating top-tier art and entertainment for families and children.

While some in the former camp have staged walkouts, demanding Disney vociferously rebuke the Florida law and legislative proposals like it, members of the latter camp have penned an anonymous open letter, arguing their employer has morphed into a bastion of “progressive orthodoxy” and urging the brand to reverse course, as they feel their sincerely held beliefs have “come under attack from our own employer, and we frequently see those who share our opinions condemned as villains by our own leadership.”

Feucht said he’s heard from current Disney staffers who are “very frustrated” by the climate within the company, which is being led by “woke corporate executives” who are “making decisions that don’t reflect the values of those in the company.” Some of those employees, he added, plan to attend the rally in Burbank at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

“You have people who have been working at Disney their whole lives, their whole career, [and] they’re believers, they love God, they love America,” he explained. “They want to make content that’s safe for children and then Disney comes out with this crazy stance against DeSantis. They’re frustrated. And you know, I applaud them for their willingness to stand with us today. They might be risking their jobs, but they think it’s a more important issue.”

The father of four said Disney once “claimed to be a safe space” and a “pro-parent” company but has, in recent years, abandoned that mantle in favor of a pro-LGBT agenda that caters directly to children through animated shorts like “Out” and Disney+ series like “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” among others.

Feucht described this next chapter of Disney as “a massive departure from where they have been and where they’ve been known to be, and I say that as a parent who used to take my kids to Disney World.”

Nevertheless, the “Let Us Worship” singer is confident the ship can be righted.

“I think what you’re gonna witness today in Burbank is going to be a sign and a wonder to America,” he said. “I’m saying that in faith, because we haven’t had it yet, but the kind of traction that we’re getting shows that the majority of Americans are actually on our side, public opinion is on our side. Nobody wants … their kids to be taught this sexualized agenda. Parents do not want that.”

Feucht went on to urge people to visit parentsfightback.com to sign a petition, which states: “Tell Disney that our kids are our kids. They aren’t the property of the woke expert class who believe they know better how to raise our kids.”

You can watch a live stream of the rally below. It begins at 6:00 p.m. PST, 9:00 p.m. EST.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Latest

  • Faith

    ‘I Should Be Dead’: Actor Praises God After Defying Odds With Miracle Survival

  • Faith

    New Pope Warns Against Reducing Jesus to ‘Charismatic Leader’

  • Faith

    ‘I Have No Fear’: 3 Doors Down Singer Announces Stage 4 Cancer, Delivers Bold Message, Call For Prayer

  • News

    ‘Bring Jesus Up!’: Sean Duffy Hangs Portrait of Jesus in Office, Calls for Original to Be Rehung After Being Sidelined During Biden Admin

  • Faith

    ‘God Saved Him’: Paula White-Cain on Trump’s Faith, Her White House Role and Why She Believes America Fell Into ‘Trouble’


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • ‘I Should Be Dead’: Actor Praises God After Defying Odds With Miracle Survival
  • New Pope Warns Against Reducing Jesus to ‘Charismatic Leader’
  • ‘I Have No Fear’: 3 Doors Down Singer Announces Stage 4 Cancer, Delivers Bold Message, Call For Prayer
  • ‘Bring Jesus Up!’: Sean Duffy Hangs Portrait of Jesus in Office, Calls for Original to Be Rehung After Being Sidelined During Biden Admin
  • ‘God Saved Him’: Paula White-Cain on Trump’s Faith, Her White House Role and Why She Believes America Fell Into ‘Trouble’

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.