‘Less gay’: ‘Inside Out 2’ was edited to remove any ‘romantic chemistry’ according to Pixar employees

There is an actual conspiracy theory floating around the internet that Disney is working to make people gay. Unfortunately, the actual culture within Disney right now is quite the opposite: According to reports, Disney is actively making their creatives do more work so that their films appear “less gay.”

The revelation came as part of a bombshell report from IGN’s Alex Stedman. According to multiple sources, Disney leadership apparently blames the failure of Lightyear solely on the film’s same-sex kiss—despite multiple obvious flaws with the film, like its confusing relationship to Toy Story canon. And yet, because Disney has convinced itself that one kiss is to blame, they’ve created an environment that not only discourages risk-taking, but that seeks to squash LGBTQ+ storylines out of fear they aren’t “universal stories.”

This new edict reportedly created extra, unnecessary labor during the production of Inside Out 2. Disney went to extreme lengths to ensure that Riley, the main character, appeared “less gay.” One source told IGN that Pixar creatives were “just doing a lot of extra work to make sure that no one would potentially see [Riley and Val] as not straight.”

A source told IGN that “some leadership [seem] ‘uncomfortable’ with queer themes at large,” and that this back and forth was “a big thing throughout” Inside Out 2‘s production.

What?!

The IGN story alleges that multiple sources heard about “continuous notes” from Disney about making Riley seem “less gay,” leading to “numerous edits.” Even once the script was done, rumors inside Pixar were that Disney was so keen to make Riley and Val seem platonic, they even asked for lighting edits to remove any perceived “romantic chemistry.”

Of course, Disney’s obsessive efforts didn’t work. A whole lot of people read Riley and Val as romantically interested in each other anyway. Which is entirely the point—good art, like Inside Out 2, allows the viewer to put themselves inside the characters’ shoes. If they have a platonic friendship that reminds them of Riley and Val, they’ll likely read that into the film. On the other hand, if they’ve experienced a romantic relationship that reminds them of Riley and Val, they might read that into the film instead. Neither interpretation is wrong, and it’s why art is good.

Furthermore, if some online troll wants to find gayness in the newest Disney film and yell about it, they’ll find it no matter what. No amount of tweaking your protagonist to appear “less gay” is going to change the mind of someone who’s already decided to receive the film in bad faith.

Plus, all of this extra effort contributed to a rush to finish Inside Out 2. One source told IGN that “a larger amount of ‘last-minute’ changes than usual” meant the end-of-production cram of Inside Out 2 was worse than usual.

So just let the girl like the girl, Disney.