Pixar chief says LGBTQ+ plot elements cut from Elio as company is not making therapy'

"We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were. Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney's behest. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it."

"We're making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy."

"The deleted scenes inspired by co-director Adrian Molina's childhood implied the lead character was gay. They included a pink bicycle and a scene in which Elio imagined raising a child with his male crush. According to the WSJ, they were removed after test screenings suggested audiences weren't excited enough to pay to see it."

Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter stated that LGBTQ+ plot elements were removed from the 2025 film Elio because Pixar is focused on making movies rather than providing therapy. This follows a 2022 letter from Pixar's LGBTQIA+ employees alleging that studio executives systematically removed moments of gay affection from films. The deleted Elio scenes, inspired by co-director Adrian Molina's childhood, included a pink bicycle and a scene depicting Elio imagining raising a child with a male crush. These elements were cut after test screenings indicated insufficient audience enthusiasm. Molina departed the project, replaced by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi. Elio ultimately became Pixar's worst-performing film, losing over $100 million.

Read at www.theguardian.com