(PCM) There was a bit of controversy stirred up after actress Meryl Streep made comments during a speech at an awards gala calling filmmaker and entrepreneur Walt Disney both “gender bigot” and person who “supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group.”
Now, Disney’s grandniece, Abigail Disney, who works as a filmmaker and social activist, has posted commentary on her Facebook page agreeing with Streep’s sentiments about her late uncle Walt Disney, who is the subject behind the new film “Saving Mr. Banks”.
Abigail posted the following:
“… Anti-Semite? Check. Misogynist? OF COURSE!! Racist? C’mon he made a film (Jungle Book) about how you should stay ‘with your own kind’ at the height of the fight over segregation! As if the ‘King of the Jungle’ number wasn’t proof enough!! How much more information do you need?” Abigail wrote. “But damn, he was hella good at making films and his work has made billions of people happy. There’s no denying it,” she added.
Abigail then went on to further clarify her position and ideas by claiming that she absolutely loved what Streep had to say and while she knows that Disney was a man of his times and she has forgiven him, “Saving Mr. Banks” was a brazen attempt by the company to make him out to be a saint. Abigail wrote “She said exactly what I said about how in spite of it all, his vision was amazing and he brought joy to so many around the world. So I say Brava Meryl. I don’t believe in bashing for bashing’s sake but whenever we see a misplaced attempt at hagiography we need to speak our minds!”
So far there have been no comments from the Disney corporation in light of the recent commentary and allegations.