Senator who criticized Disney for being ‘too woke’ spotted at Disney World
GOP Sen. Rick Scott from Florida had been paparazzied by TMZ at Disney World during a recess. It’s infuriating enough that a senator is seen having fun while the government is on partial shutdown, but the case becomes even more controversial in consideration of Scott’s thoughts about Disney being “woke.”
After TMZ tabloids exposed Scott for attending Disney World with his family, the senator came out on X with a statement. He wrote, “Hey TMZ. Yes, I’m at Disney with my grandkids. Should we be in DC? Yes! But I don’t get to make that decision.”
Beneath the statement is a photo of him and his family posing at Disney World. The senator was immediately clocked, as he had been a vocal critic of Disney. In a 2022 op-ed, Scott wrote about Disney being ‘woke‘ and condemned the practice as ‘alienating’ to a portion of their clientele—including himself.
He said, “Disney used to be the happiest place on Earth, now it’s just woke central. It’s on the losing side of an issue that the majority of families, regardless of political ideology, agree with.”
He also criticized the hypocrisy of Disney. Scott added, “While Disney tries to lecture us with these extreme views, the mouse is completely unwilling to speak up for freedom and against real oppression in places such as Communist China.”
For these reasons, he concluded, “I won’t be going back or watching Disney+ anytime soon, and I bet a lot more parents and grandparents are making that same choice.”
A hypocrite bigger than Disney
Scott is right that corporations are hypocritical and that they only bend to the dominant ideology at the time. It’s precisely the failure of rainbow capitalism. It’s why multinational corporations can’t be trusted to back social justice movements, as their corporate interests will always come first.
There are enjoyable bits of representation with Disney’s films—much to the terror of conservatives. But multinational corporations are still businesses at the end of the day, and they will support groups so long as they can be cashed in on.
But clearly, Disney is not woke enough to stay away from if Scott is vacationing with his family there. He surely didn’t live up to denying Disney its much-needed patronage after only a few years of writing that op-ed. Because of this, social media was quick to dig up and share his old piece online.
Meidas Touch co-founder Brett Meiselas wrote, “Thought y’all hated Disney. Guess you forgot about your fake outrage.”
Film director Francis Maxwell reacted, “Everything and I mean EVERYTHING Republicans do is performative. They stand for nothing, believe in nothing, do nothing but peddle in outrage.”
TMZ is keeping politicians on their toes
Scott is right to call out Disney’s capitalist hypocrisy—but it makes him an even bigger hypocrite to decry the mouse. Perhaps none of this would come to light if not for TMZ turning their cameras against politicians. Although the tabloid is known for its aggressive reporting on celebrities, it has recently decided to hunt politicians down.
They had even encouraged citizens to send photos of their representatives vacationing during the partial government shutdown. The method is definitely shocking. But when thousands of government workers are not being paid because of a partisan clash on funding? Perhaps the best way to hold elected officials accountable is by shaming them all with shutters.
(featured image: SenRickScott on X)
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