Disney Corporate President Says She Supports Having ‘Many, Many, Many LGBTQIA Characters in Our Stories’

EXCERPT:

BURKE: "I'm here as a mother of two queer children, actually, one transgender child, and one pansexual child and -- and also as a leader. And that was the thing that really got me because I have heard so much from so many of my colleagues over the course of the last couple of weeks, in open forums, and through emails and phone conversations. And I feel a responsibility to speak, not just for myself, but for them. To all of us, we had a -- we had an open forum last week at 20th, where, again, the home of really incredible, groundbreaking LGBTQIA stories over the years, where one of our execs stood up and said, 'You know, we only have a handful of queer leads in our content.' And I went, 'What? That can't be true!' And I -- and I -- and I realized, 'Oh, it actually is true.' We have many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories, and -- and -- and yet, we don't have enough leads and narratives in which gay characters just -- just get to be characters and -- and not have to be about gay stories. And so that's been very eye-opening for me.”