Actress Idina Menzel, who played Elsa in Disney's hit film "Frozen," said on Sunday that "it's great" to see her character stirring things up amid debate over a social media campaign aimed at urging Disney to make Elsa "a lesbian princess" in the film's sequel.
"I think it's great that she's stirring it up, and Disney's just gotta contend with that," Menzel told Entertainment Tonight during an interview on the red carpet at the Billboard Music Awards. "I'll let them figure that out."
The actress did say that she would embrace Disney's decision "no matter what."
Watch Menzel's comments below:
The actress' comments were related to a Twitter campaign that launched last month with the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend. It began after a teenager named Alexic Isabel Moncada tweeted, "I hope Disney makes Elsa a lesbian princess imagine how iconic that would be" and added, "Dear @Disney, #GiveElsaAGirlfriend," according to WJW-TV.
Her tweets quickly reverberated across social media, with Moncada subsequently writing a piece for MTV explaining why she believes having a lesbian princess would be an important move for Disney, writing that, to date, "we’ve never been able to see the purity in a queer relationship."
"Many in the LGBT community view this movie as a metaphor for the experience of coming out and accepting who you are," she wrote. "Yet Elsa, the film’s protagonist, will probably end up with a male prince or king in the upcoming 'Frozen' sequel."
Moncada concluded by stating that showing young girls that women can love other women in the "same way Cinderella loved her Prince Charming" is an essential element to their development.
The campaign hasn't gone over too well with conservative groups, who oppose integrating a same-sex storyline into the children's film. In fact, a petition opposing the move has attracted more than 205,000 signatures.
"Join us in standing against the absurd 'movement' to turn Queen Elsa of Frozen into a lesbian during the 2018 sequel, 'Frozen 2,'" the petition reads. "We hope that Disney will not give in to the pressures of the liberal agenda."
Ironically, "Frozen" has faced a variety of accusations over the years, including one radio host's controversial claim that the film inserted gay and lesbian themes. Others, though, have observed covertly Christian messages embedded in the film.
(H/T: Entertainment Tonight)
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Billy Hallowell
