Why was Victoria Alonso fired by Disney? This is the question that the MCU fandom is obsessing over for the past few days. Previously, it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that the reason behind her dismissal was because of her work on Argentina 1985, an Oscar-nominated film that she produced. However, now it has come to light that the reason was related to LGBTQ themes in Ant-Man 3.
Why Was Victoria Alonso Fired By Disney?
Previously Disney had indicated that the reason behind Victoria Alonso’s dismissal was because of “an indisputable breach of contract and a direct violation of company policy.” The Hollywood Reporter indicated that it was due to her involvement with Argentina 1985 as it was a non-Marvel or Disney film. But Alonso’s attorney Patty Glaser denied that explanation.
Glaser stated, “Victoria, a gay Latina who dared to criticize Disney, was silenced. Then she was terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible.” The Hollywood Reporter’s insiders now believe that Alonso, the former president of physical, postproduction, visual effects, and animation, was fired because she refused to censor the word ‘Pride’ in Ant-Man 3 for the Kuwait market. As per the site:
“Marvel executives wanted an editor to blur a storefront window that featured rainbow decorations and the word “Pride” for the version of the film to be released in Kuwait, which has restrictive anti-LGBTQ laws. The storefront was shown in two brief scenes in which Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) walked down a San Francisco street.”
Alonso refused to make the changes even though it was part of her duty to oversee the entire post-production and visual effects at Marvel. THR reports that as a result, “Marvel then went to an outside vendor to see the edit through.” This isn’t the first time Marvel has had to remove LGBTQ scenes or even hints at it in its films.
LGBTQ Scenes Were Removed In Other Marvel Films
LGBTQ censorship is something that Hollywood has always struggled with when it comes to releasing its projects in the Middle East. This isn’t the first time Marvel has removed same-sex affection scenes due to strict laws in those countries. Recently, they had to remove a forehead kiss between Florence Kasumba’s Ayo and Michaela Coel’s character Aneka in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
However, Disney hasn’t always complied. Marvel’s Eternals was banned in several nations due to Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Ben (Haaz Sleiman) being married. However, Disney didn’t cut out any of it presumably because doing so would have impacted the storytelling. But the house of mouse firing Victoria Alonso, who has worked at Marvel Studios for more than 15 years over her supposedly not making a small edit seems eyebrow-raising.
This isn’t the first time Alonso, who is gay herself, took a stand against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. She also publicly requested previous Disney CEO Bob Chapek to push back against the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill of Florida. It remains to be seen how Alonso and Disney respond to THR’s current report.
Ant-Man 3 is playing in theaters.
Source: THR
