Disney Security Compares LGBTQIA+ Community to MAGA, Harasses Guest Over “Gay” Shirt
A Disneyland Resort guest is speaking out after being confronted by a Disney security cast member over her “That’s So Gay” parody shirt. The guest’s top, inspired by That’s So Raven, sparked a heated exchange when the Disney cast member questioned the appropriateness of the word “gay.” According to the guest, the employee compared her outfit to “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) merchandise, calling it “inappropriate” for the Southern California Disney parks.
Disney’s dress codes for both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort prohibit clothing with “objectionable material, including obscene language or graphics.” However, the attire policies don’t specifically mention political clothing or items representing the LGBTQIA+ community, such as the Disney Park guest’s outfit.
Stephanie (@stephanielizabeth08 on TikTok) took to social media to share her experience after arriving at Disneyland Resort with her group. While she and her party were ultimately allowed into the park, the experience left a bad taste in her mouth.
@stephanielizabeth08 is the word “gay” inappropriate? @Disney Parks my chest honestly still hurts and i feel numb? it’s heartbreaking.. #disneyland #queer #lgbt #wlw
“Is the word ‘gay’ inappropriate?” the caption of her video asked. “@Disney Parks my chest honestly still hurts and I feel numb? It’s heartbreaking..”
In the video, Stephanie explained, “I was going through security after parking to get to the tram, and security asked if my shirt was appropriate, or inappropriate, because it has the word ‘gay’ on it.” She continued, “…We just celebrated Pride Month. There’s nothing inappropriate about the word ‘gay.’”
Security reportedly suggested that if her shirt was acceptable, then MAGA hats and shirts should be too.
“They said if that shirt is okay, then MAGA hats and shirts should be okay, which I feel like are the complete opposite of what being gay is and the purpose of the shirt,” Stephanie said. “I feel like I’m trying to be as calm about it as possible, but to liken them to the same thing is terrifying.”
For Stephanie, the comparison between her “gay” shirt and MAGA was deeply troubling, especially just a month after Disneyland Park hosted Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite.
“People are gay,” she said. “Pride is for gay people. Or did we not know that? …I also am with a group of queer women and non-binary people, and they all heard it and they all saw it happen. So it feels like it not only hurt me, but it hurt them.”
The situation continued to bother Stephanie, and she and her wife Bianca later posted another video detailing their experience. The couple explained that they had worn the same outfits to Disneyland Resort multiple times without issue before.
@stephanielizabeth08 addressing yesterday’s experience at Disneyland. #disneyland #queer #wlw #disney @Disney Parks
“My big issue is that the word ‘gay’ isn’t inappropriate,” Stephanie said. “People are gay…There were people that were saying, ‘Well it’s because you’re at a children’s theme park.’ But children are gay. I was gay my whole life.”
Bianca said the security cast member also compared their shirt to “Free Palestine” merchandise. The comparison sparked further frustration from the couple, who felt it was wrong to equate their Pride merch with two politically charged statements.
“Taking the word ‘gay’ and equating it to the vile hatred that MAGA itself spews, which is the complete opposite, filled with people who want to strip our gay rights away,” Stephanie said. “And then to also add in Palestine to the mix, which is experiencing genocide, and ‘Free Palestine’ shirts are calling for liberation when MAGA is the epitome of white supremacy…Putting them on the same level is wrong.”
The Disney Park guests said they were trying to stay composed but struggled to ignore the gravity of the comparison.
“I was trying not to overreact, but then you keep thinking about it,” Stephanie reflected. “They were saying it like it was no big deal, like MAGA is not literally terrorizing communities right now. As someone from an immigrant family…I feel like that was inappropriate.”
One of the most embarrassing aspects of the experience for Stephanie was that it happened in front of other guests.
“It felt shameful,” she recalled. “I was proud to wear that shirt. I want to wear queer merch and Latin merch…To wear something like that and have it be deemed ‘inappropriate’ and then compared to MAGA. It’s like we’re allowed to be gay as long as we’re quiet and not out and proud…We wore these shirts during Pride Month and it was okay. Is it now because Pride Month is over that y’all don’t care anymore?”
Despite the incident, both women said they received positive attention when they wore the shirt previously at Disneyland Resort.
“A lot of people understand the shirt,” Bianca said. “When I wore the shirt in the parks the first time, people were like, ‘Oh, I love your shirt!’…So I don’t think there’s any other meaning to it.”
“I got compliments from cast members and other queer people because we get it,” Stephanie echoed. “We know what it means to reclaim our power and reclaim phrases and reclaim slurs because that’s empowering to us. We’re not going to let those words hurt us.”
Stephanie also pointed out the irony of being criticized for wearing a That’s So Raven parody shirt: “It’s also a play on That’s So Raven, a show that we grew up on and Raven-Symoné is a f**king queer icon.”
The couple’s story quickly gained attention from other Disney Parks fans, many of whom voiced their support. Many current and former Disney cast members urged the couple to report the incident to Guest Relations.
“As a former employee at Disney, this is not OK,” @lababygirl00 wrote. “And it’s never too late to go and speak. Call email or in person look for the security guard and turn him in.”
“Report that security person if you rember their name !” @ashhbash.28 agreed. “They can get a discipline if it reaches their manager ! Im sorry that happened to you. There’s some of *those* people who work at Disney.”
Several commenters also shared their experiences with MAGA hats being worn at the parks without issue, including one who said, “As a former cast member, I’ve seen whole families wearing ‘Go Brandon’ shirts and MAGA hats and when I brought it up to the leads they said it was allowed so…. Please file a complaint!”
“I’ve seen security tell a guy with a MAGA hat he liked it,” @illbringthecoffee added.
Other LGBTQIA+ Disney Park guests shared similar disappointing experiences.
“I couldn’t write ‘I’m gay’ on a ‘I’m celebrating’ pin during A PRIDE EVENT last year!!!” @okayitsdestiny wrote.
Still, a few commenters argued that the “That’s So Gay” shirt was inappropriate.
“It just depends on the context,” @tom_skullture said. “If it was just the word itself, it’s ok. But that phrase has been used as a slur/slander for many years. If someone can say it to another person, it’s ok.”
Was this outfit appropriate for Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park? Disney Dining would love to hear your opinion in the comments!
I personally think they ought to put either. I’m pride or I’m not, uh, homosexual. Oh, wait-a-bit more, our lbtq. Whatever the third and a 1/2 of it that the people who are having mental problems while wearing or they ought to say that I’m mental all of mega is not totally against homosexuals. Now this is the marine homosexual community or the lbtqt j. Whatever they call their cells like, I say, the third of the Eiffel bit, they’re using the, you know, gay back in the 1920s and stuff meant happy, just like tight since you’ve been drinking, and you know, they just take awards out of context because they tried to get something started. I mean, it’s bad enough that you have pride in my mind. But then you don’t have veterans, you mind. Why don’t they have Native American month while I’m gonna have g month? If I don’t have cat with mine, . They have the thing is a place for kids children not to indoctrinate them into your ideology. It’s just to be there to have fun. Maybe we ought to be told that we all got to wear a Disney shirt when we were in there, how about if I wear a Harley shirt, but your a Honda person so is that wrong? Why don’t they have an adult stripper month?I mean there are people too. Instead of changing all this stuff in frontier land why don’t they just start another whole land and call it trans land we film?