TMZ ran into openly gay Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney on Capitol Hill earlier this week, and asked him about his feelings of the LGBTQ community being represented in a Disney movie.
“I think it’s great if there’s positive LGBT characters on Disney movies and shows and everywhere else,” he said. “We are part of this American family and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be represented.”
The question arose after an online debate cropped up stating that Elsa, the main character in the cult-hit Frozen should have a girlfriend in the sequel that comes out in the fall.
When asked if Disney should take the lead in bringing an LGBT character to a children’s film, Maloney took a moment before offering a definitive answer to TMZ.
“I don’t know. I mean, the answer is yes. They absolutely should. Whether it’s this one (Frozen) or another one, I think you want to put some context around it and have a story that was equal to some of the issues LGBT people face in this country,” he said. “There’s a real story there, absolutely.”
Maloney went on to say that it’s past time that the LGBT community was represented in a children’s movie, noting, “you know who understands this, kids. They understand there’s LGBT characters out there, and they’re some of the least shocked among us out there.”
“It’s past time,” he said. “When you look at the great Disney movies, they’re often about people that feel like outsiders and overcome those challenges and find happiness in this world. That’s been a theme in so many of their movies and that’s a theme LGBT people understand and its a journey the country has been working on to welcome more kinds of people.”
Quoting the movie’s popular song, Maloney added, “So yeah, Disney: let it go. I don’t know about Elsa, but let it go, let it go, let it go.”
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