On New Day Saturday, fill-in co-host Laura Jarrett suggested that Disney has not been aggressive enough in pushing against Republicans on parents' rights in Florida schools, complaining that Disney's response to the law restricting the teaching of LGBT issues to young school children was done "belatedly." Not surprisingly, Jarrett gave a forum to a left-wing professor to fret about the effect the law might have on LGBT parents or five-year-olds who might identify as transgender.
Introducing the segment by using the preferred liberal phraseology in referring to the "don't say gay" bill, she asked University of Central Florida Professor Aubrey Jewett: "Let's start with this idea that's been floated by some state GOP lawmakers I mentioned -- this one about revoking the state privileges that Disney has enjoyed for decades, all because Disney is now publicly -- and I would say belatedly -- opposed to this bill. How realistic is this to get it reversed?"
In her first follow-up, Jarrett then wondered why Disney did not push against Republicans on the issue sooner:
Disney's power comes from its impact -- its economic impact in Florida. It's traditionally one of the most powerful companies in the state. It's a huge Republican donor traditionally, and it usually gets what it wants from state government. So we know that Disney has clout. But this time, it didn't use it. My question is: Why?
The CNN host soon invited her guest to talk up the possibility that Republicans had gone too far to the right and would face a backlash:
So much of these fights, it seems, comes down to one of framing. And this one being framed as one about parental rights. We've seen that line a lot recently with Republicans sort of using that tact, especially when it comes to things like school choice. You think about Governor Youngkin in Virginia...[I]s there a fear that politicians should have about perhaps pushing this too far when it comes to something like Disney that so many parents love and rely on because their kids love it. Is there a risk that they're going to take this too far?
In his response, the Florida professor was concerned about the possibility of parents filing lawsuits that would hurt LGBT parents and students, including those who aren't even old enough for kindergarten:
If a parent thinks the school or a school system has violated this law, and that might have a real chilling effect on just discussing really basic and simple things about equal rights and parents that are perhaps two men or two women or a child who becomes as transgender at five or six years old, which many children do, so I think there is a certainly a possibility of backlash.
We should note that Jarrett is the daughter of longtime Obama family advisor Valerie Jarrett and has served as a legal analyst for CNN before becoming the co-host of Early Start, which airs weekdays prior to New Day.
This episode of New Day Saturday was sponsored in part by L'Oreal. Their contact information is linked.
Transcript follows:
New Day Saturday
April 2, 2022
8:39 a.m. EasternLAURA JARRETT: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is signaling support for stripping Disney of its 55-year-old special status that allows the company to operate as an independent government around its Orlando-area theme park. It's just the latest in this fallout in the feud between the governor and the state's largest employer. And it all stems from a measure that you've heard a lot about -- the one that bans schools from teaching young children about sexual orientation or gender identity. After DeSantis signed the so-called "don't say gay" bill into law earlier this week, Disney says its goal is to get that law repealed. But the governor says the company has crossed a line.
(...)
8:40 a.m. Eastern
JARRETT [TO UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA'S AUBREY JEWETT]: Let's start with this idea that's been floated by some state GOP lawmakers I mentioned -- this one about revoking the state privileges that Disney has enjoyed for decades, all because Disney is now publicly -- and I would say belatedly -- opposed to this bill. How realistic is this to get it reversed?
(....)
8:41 a.m. Eastern
JARRETT: So Disney and Florida have this interesting sort of symbiotic relationship -- and you've noted this in past interviews -- one that you did with the Washington Post recently that Disney's power comes from its impact -- its economic impact in Florida. It's traditionally one of the most powerful companies in the state. It's a huge Republican donor traditionally, and it usually gets what it wants from state government. So we know that Disney has clout. But this time, it didn't use it. My question is: Why?
(....)
8:42 a.m. Eastern
JARRETT: The problem is, of course, now they're getting it from both sides, right? The left thinks they're not woke enough, and the right thinks they're too woke. So they're -- now they've basically made everyone angry. Media mogul Barry Miller tells CNN it's perfectly valid for companies not to take positions on social issues, but I wonder, in your view, doesn't that sort of miss the internal pressure that these companies like Disney are facing from their employees to step up?
(....)
8:44 a.m. Eastern
JARRETT: You know, Professor, so much of these fights, it seems, comes down to one of framing. And this one being framed as one about parental rights. We've seen that line a lot recently with Republicans sort of using that tact, especially when it comes to things like school choice. You think about Governor Youngkin in Virginia running that ad about banning the book Beloved. I wonder, is there a fear that politicians should have about perhaps pushing this too far when it comes to something like Disney that so many parents love and rely on because their kids love it. Is there a risk that they're going to take this too far?
AUBREY JEWETT: Well, yeah, I mean, I do think it's possible that they can be taken too far -- that the extremes in the Republican Prty will push this, and I think when they say this is for, you know, parental rights, then the question becomes -- as a lot of LGBT groups have said, you know -- which parents?
JARRETT: Mmmm.
JEWETT: You know, are you just going to leave this up? Cause this legislation also allows lawsuits to be filed. If a parent thinks the school or a school system has violated this law, and that might have a real chilling effect on just discussing really basic and simple things about equal rights and parents that are perhaps two men or two women or a child who becomes as transgender at five or six years old, which many children do, so I think there is a certainly a possibility of backlash. Whether or not we see it on this issue, I don't know because of that successful framing. We've seen some public opinion nationally that says a majority of people support it. I will say there was a Florida poll a couple months ago, maybe a month and a half ago that said the majority did not support it, so right here in the states.
JARRETT: Notable for sure.
