Rightwingers didn’t have a very chill Memorial Day weekend. Fox News tried to turn an innocuous tweet by Kamala Harris into a culture war firestorm. Texas Republicans stayed up late Saturday pushing through legislation to make voting more difficult. There was even a QAnon conference. Then there’s congressional hopeful Omar Navarro, who got really, really mad when a Disney spin-off dared feature an out-and-proud gay character.
The new Disney Cruella with Emma Stone just ruined my childhood with an openly flamboyant gay in the movie.
Disney persist shoving the LGBT agenda down our throat.
— Carter Hughes (@itscarterhughes) May 31, 2021
Navarro isn’t that well-known. He is, in fact, what one calls a “perennial candidate,” which is to say a politician who frequently runs for office and rarely, if ever, wins. Indeed, Navarro’s claim to fame is that he has thrice been defeated by 15-term California representative Maxine Waters, who is also the most senior of the 12 black people serving in Congress. But on Memorial Day itself, he became better known as the guy who got mocked for dropping some old school homophobia about a Disney movie.
“The new Disney Cruella with Emma Stone just ruined my childhood with an openly flamboyant gay in the movie,” wrote Navarro. “Disney persist shoving the LGBT agenda down our throat.”
This isn’t the first time Navarro has clutched his pearls over an LGBTQ+ character in Disney content. According to Pink News, in 2019 he came for the Disney Channel show The Owl House after it introduced a bisexual character.
“I don’t agree with this crap being pushed down our throats,” he wrote, using similar language. “What people do at home is there business but publicly I shouldn’t have to be forced.” He added, “Will Christians please stand up?”
He also served six months in prison after violating a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend, who claimed he was stalking her.
Navarro’s tweet was quick to earn the scorn and mockery of social media.
Gotta be a horrible experience to go to a movie with your heart set on enjoying some good ol' puppy skinnin' and some gay dude walks by and ruins everything. 🙄 https://t.co/gzdtm0PlzM
— Ragnarok Lobster 🐺 (@eclecticbrotha) May 31, 2021
imagine booting up Cruella like hell yeah this one is for the straights https://t.co/GdvqZrc0OS
— Kate Halliwell (@katehalliwell) May 31, 2021
I, too, had a very very normal and extremely heterosexual childhood that was entirely constructed around Cruella DeVil. https://t.co/9jq4l39ULE
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) May 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/AdamCrafton_/status/1399485066472996865
I hate to break it to you, but if your childhood memories hinge upon the casting in a garish comedic backstory about Cruella de Vil, you might actually be gay. https://t.co/bv6dxQxrBc
— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) May 31, 2021
did you actually believe that this lady would tolerate heteosexuality? https://t.co/UK5EXhG8XW pic.twitter.com/ADBe8mDzl3
— Sarah McGonagall (@gothspiderbitch) May 31, 2021
"California, as your representative I promise I will cry about movies for children" https://t.co/PCQ4nwI7Fs
— Big Supernaturals (@UweBollocks) May 31, 2021
Not a professional psychologist, but if one movie you watched as an adult ruined your childhood, your childhood was already hanging by a thread. https://t.co/puTkwPmD5q
— David A. Goodman (@DavidAGoodman) May 31, 2021
Genuinely fascinated by anyone whose childhood was reliant on preserving the myth of heterosexual exclusivity in the Cruella origin story. https://t.co/62asNfWH3e
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) May 31, 2021
Shut up and swallow https://t.co/962meI6uFk
— Ellen Barkin (@EllenBarkin) May 31, 2021
Some pelted him with the far right’s favorite insult: snowflake.
https://twitter.com/TitusNation/status/1399426739298738176
Some pointed out that Cruella De Vil is not exactly a role model whose reputation can be sullied.
The LGBT agenda ruined a beautiful movie about turning puppies into coats https://t.co/iC1JoVe1A7
— Marie Connor (@thistallawkgirl) May 31, 2021
these openly flamboyant gays really have ruined the otherwise wholesome film about a coat made from hundreds of skinned puppies https://t.co/6x5usAuS1w
— Dan Hett (@danhett) May 31, 2021
Others dwelled on his weird use of sexual imagery.
What is it with homophobes and absolutely refusing to use a phrase other than "shove it down our throats 😩" https://t.co/bULCZAJAON
— Kyle 🌱 (@KylePlantEmoji) May 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/BCDreyer/status/1399465808615677954
And others were newly enraged at the wing of Star Wars and Ghosbusters fans who introduced the words “ruined my childhood” into the cultural lexicon.
An obvious and profound fuck you to this guy, but also a special fuck you to Star Wars fandom for entering "ruined my childhood" into the cultural lexicon. https://t.co/EXOXGufqOr
— X-Wings & History (@XWnHIST) May 31, 2021
That said, Navarro’s tweet did make some people actually want to watch Cruella.
I think this guy just sold me on Cruella. https://t.co/COjehViDsj
— Gary Whitta (inactive) (@garywhitta) May 31, 2021
Cruella is now in theaters and can now be streamed, for about $30, on Disney+. Navarro, meanwhile, is planning to run against Maxine Waters, again, in 2022. Maybe fourth time’s the charm!
(Via Pink News)