Veteran rapper Snoop Dogg has again come under fire for comments he made last week about seeing gay characters in children’s movies. On the podcast It’s Giving, hosted by Sarah Fontenot, Snoop reflected on the experience of watching Pixar’s Lightyear movie with his grandson and struggling to answer the child’s questions about a same-sex couple.

Lightyear, released in 2022, is the much-anticipated spinoff to Toy Story, one of the most successful franchises in animation history. It was quickly mired in controversy after a same-sex character was introduced in the plot, with an animated kiss between two women.

Disney later removed the scene after the outcry, then restored it in response to Pixar employees criticizing the decision and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups calling for more representation.

The rapper, who has a history of similar controversies, became muddled during a scene in the Lightyear film when his grandson turned to him and asked how the two women had a child together. “Why, my grandson, in the middle of the movie, like, ‘Papa Snoop, how does she have a baby with a woman? She is a woman,” he said. “Oh s—, I didn’t come in for this s—. I just came to watch the g—— movie.”

Snoop Dogg said he had no immediate answer for his grandson and instead urged him to wait and watch further. “They just said she had a baby. They are both women. How does she have a baby? S—. The movie ain’t over with,” he continued. “I’m scared to go to the movies. Like y’all throwing me in the middle of s— that I don’t have an answer for.”

The issue, Snoop added later in the podcast, was the fact that kids are not afraid to ask questions. “It threw me for a loop,” he said. “These are kids that we have to show that at this age, like, they’re going to ask questions. They are going to ask. I don’t have an answer. And I was just there to go to sleep and watch the movie. That s— woke me up.”

Reaction and Progressive Planning Protests

The comment caused a strong reaction online, with critics now planning protests at the Australian Football League’s Grand Final, where Snoop Dogg has been announced to perform. The AFL Grand Final is an Australian sporting league that draws tens of thousands of people to the big match in Melbourne each season. While Snoop has no formal opposition to appearing on the lineup, his comments have caused a PR backlash.

PinkNews reported the Australian Football League chief executive Gillon McLachlan stood by the decision to include Snoop Dogg, even with his anti-gay remarks. The AFL is a publicly lauded supporter of inclusion and diversity initiatives, but there has been no reported action or movement to suggest the rapper will be denied performance time.

Lightyear has been at the center of debate over gay representation for years, as the scene did not make it past its initial release in 2022 without backlash. After its June release, conservatives pounced, particularly over the animated same-sex kiss and whether it was appropriate for a children’s movie.

Disney ultimately had to apologize for the removal after its Pixar employees spoke out and LGBTQ+ groups rallied for more representation. “The real truth is those people are idiots,” Chris Evans, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, said in an interview at the time when asked about the gay scene. “There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs. I think the goal is to pay them no mind, march forward, and embrace the growth that makes us human.”

Lightyear became another Pixar success story by delving deeper into the Toy Story universe and asking, “What if Buzz Lightyear, the real space-age science-fiction hero of the films, had a toy named after him? The results were not fantastic: Despite heavy marketing, connection to a long-established universe, and an original story for Pixar, Lightyear underperformed at the box office with less than $227 million against an original budget of $200 million.

Reaction to Snoop Dogg’s Controversial Comments

The two sides of the gay representation arguments in children’s movies have remained the same for many years. Proponents point to the normalization of inclusion as a healthy image for children, while critics take the side of questioning and being unprepared to discuss certain issues in an age-appropriate manner with children. Snoop Dogg was previously mired in a similar situation after a backlash against his comments about controversial gay characters in the 2013 Peanuts special entitled Snoopy and the Red Baron.

At the time, Snoop Dogg wrote on Twitter, “Was just messin around but damn y’all is finna be fighting over some damn gay Snoopy?? Praise God, He is gay as it only takes one, and he will convert the whole world .” The response again fell on progressive audiences who feel kids should have as much exposure to the diversity of life as possible.

With the Grand Final approaching, Snoop Dogg is not backing down from his latest comments. It remains unclear how the reaction to his interview on the podcast will affect the rapper on a global stage, but his role in the increasingly vocal debate over what children’s movies should include continues.