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Nowadays, politics seems to have entered every aspect of our lives, and it is hard to escape. Even The Walt Disney Company has found itself at the center of a political firestorm. For more than a year, Disney fought a heated battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, ending with the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Thankfully, the fight between the two Florida powerhouses is over, but the scars will last for years.
Credit: Reedy Creek Improvement District
Related: Ron DeSantis Bans Certain Disney Cast Members From Public Spaces
Recently, Disney found itself in the headlines once again, but not for its policies, theme parks, or movies. Instead, an iconic Disney villain is making headlines because of a certain South Dakota Governor.
Kristi Noem has been the Governor of South Dakota since 2019, and in that time, she has managed to make headlines for a number of controversial issues. In 2020, Noem was accused of forcing the director of South Dakota’s Appraiser Certification Program to resign when her daughter was not granted her real estate appraisal license.
Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr
Related: Do You Want to Be Evil? The BEST Disney Villain Songs!
Also in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem used COVID relief money to promote tourism in her state. She did so at the same time the state saw a surge in cases. She was called out by fellow political leaders for questioning the efficacy of face masks, not encouraging residents to stay indoors, and casting doubt on medical professionals.
However, Noem’s biggest controversy happened very recently. And it is leaving millions of people disgusted.
Credit: Matt Johnson, Flickr
Ms. Noem published a book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, earlier this month. In it, she recounted the time that she killed one of her hunting dogs. To be clear, there was nothing wrong with the 18-month-old puppy; Noem just said it was of no use to her, so she shot it.
The Guardian received an advanced copy of the book, and shared the disturbing story:
Through it all, Noem says, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy”.
“I hated that dog,” Noem writes, adding that Cricket had proved herself “untrainable”, “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog”.
“At that moment,” Noem says, “I realised I had to put her down.”
Noem, who also represented her state in Congress for eight years, got her gun, then led Cricket to a gravel pit.
“It was not a pleasant job,” she writes, “but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realised another unpleasant job needed to be done.”
Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr
Related: How Bad Are They? Disney’s Most Empathetic Villains?
The story quickly went viral, and angry social media users began comparing Noem to one of Disney’s most iconic villains. It is none other than Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians (1961). The fur-wearing, cigarette-smoking villain is known for her desire to kill dozens of puppies simply because she wants their fur.
Once Kristi Noem gets the black and white hairdo her transformation into Cruella DeVille will be complete.
Once Kristi Noem gets the black and white hairdo her transformation into Cruella DeVille will be complete. pic.twitter.com/bLaSpTnd8C
— Kenny BooYah! 🖖🏾 (@KwikWarren) May 9, 2024
Related: Details Revealed for Disney’s Live-Action ‘Cruella’ Sequel by Emma Stone
People were further enraged when Noem doubled down on her belief that what she did was okay, and then also suggested that President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, should also be shot.
‘You’re saying he should be shot?’ @GovKristiNoem called out for wanting to kill Biden’s dog https://rawstory.com/kristi-noem-biden-dog/
Noem has indeed morphed into Cruella de Ville.
'You're saying he should be shot?' @GovKristiNoem called out for wanting to kill Biden's dog https://t.co/BmZypRB3N1
Noem has indeed morphed into Cruella de Ville. pic.twitter.com/dKo3uSiKKD
— Karen J (@KaJo503) May 5, 2024
Noem ended up ending her book tour early, citing bad weather. However, many believed that it was because she kept being asked about the killing of an innocent puppy.
Disney’s Continuing Cruella’s Story
In 2021, Disney released Cruella, the film that told fans about how Cruella De Vil became Cruella De Vil. The notorious villain was played by Easy A (2003) star, Emma Stone. Stone fully embraced Cruella’s new direction, and audiences fell in love with her.
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
The same month Cruella premiered in theaters, both Emma Stone and Emma Thompson revealed that they would happily return for a sequel film. Just one month after that, Disney announced that a sequel film was in the works, but no details were given. Then, in August 2021, Emma Stone confirmed that she had signed on to reprise her role.
Are you excited for more Cruella De Vil? Let us know in the comments!
