DeSantis slams 'woke' Disney after CEO condemns parents' rights bill
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the Walt Disney Company as "woke" on Thursday after the company came out against a Republican-led parental rights bill in the state that progressives have claimed is anti-LGBTQ.
Actor Ron Perlman was blasted on Twitter after posting a video message to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis calling him a "piece of s---" and a "Nazi" for signing a controversial parental rights bill in Florida.
"Good morning Governor DeSantis, Ron here," the Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy actor tweeted on Tuesday in a message, which was viewed over 1 million times, expressing his frustration over a bill DeSantis signed that prohibits the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms.
WARNING: The video contains language some may find inappropriate
"Don’t say gay? Don’t say? As the first two words in a sentence spoken by a political leader of a state in the United States of America. Don’t say?" Perlman continued. "Don’t f------- say you f------ Nazi pig? Say! First Amendment. Read about it. Then run for office. You piece of s---."
STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 01: Ron Perlman attends the 7th Annual Ed Asner And Friends Poker Tournament Celebrity Night at CBS Studios - Radford on June 01, 2019 in Studio City, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images)
The 71-year-old actor was immediately slammed for the video by conservatives who pointed out that nowhere in the bill does the text mention saying the word gay which has been widely overlooked by many media outlets and activist groups. Many responses to Perlman's post defended the rights of parents to be aware of what their young children are being taught in schools regarding sexuality.
"Ron has read thousands of pages of TV & movie scripts yet couldn’t spend the few minutes to read a 7-page bill," political commentator Siraj Hashmi tweeted along with a link to the bill.
"tell me you cant read without telling me you cant read," author Ashley St. Clair tweeted.
"Hey @perlmutations read the bill you dolt," Republican congressional candidate Robby Starbuck tweeted. "It doesn’t say ‘don’t say gay’ anywhere in the bill. The bill bans schools from teaching kindergarteners up to 3rd grade about sexual stuff and gender theory. Why do you want kids taught this in kindergarten?!? Really sick."
DESANTIS SAYS CRITICS OF FLORIDA'S PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL 'NEED TO GET OUT OF THEIR BUBBLE'
"Imagine being as old and successful as Ron, witnessing spectacular things, through your own celebrity having access to powerful and amazing people… but the culmination of all that is… this video," Fox News contributor Joey Jones tweeted.
FILE PHOTO: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the welcome segment of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 26, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
"Insane," Florida Republican State Rep. Joe Harding, who sponsored the bill, told Fox News Digital in response to Perlman's video. "It's clear he gets his news from Joe Biden and the Florida House Democrats Twitter feed. He is the face of the far-left Democrat Party. Unhinged."
Representatives for Perlman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
"In Florida, we not only know that parents have a right to be involved, we insist that parents have a right to be involved," DeSantis said about the bill at a Monday press conference.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference in November 2021. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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The bill prohibits classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" with children in third grade or younger, "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
The bill does not ban the word "gay" in school settings, and it does not ban casual discussions of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report
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