Ron DeSantis Gets Schooled for Denouncing ‘Sexuality’ in Kids’ Shows: ‘Apparently He’s Never Watched Bugs Bunny’
Earlier today, Ron DeSantis, while stumping for Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt in what appears to be a disused Bennigan’s, again made false (and increasingly bizarre) claims about Disney “injecting sexuality into the programming for these very young kids.” “When we were young, you could watch cartoons without having to worry. Now parents have to sit there about, What are they trying to inject in? What kind of ideology are they trying to pursue? And that is wrong,” DeSantis bellowed. This, of course, led Twitter to swiftly remind the Florida governor and champion of the harmful “Don’t Say Gay” bill that Bugs Bunny, a character created in the late 1930s and beloved by children around the world, is canonically trans.
As people like Zak Wood and others have pointed out on Twitter (leading “Bugs Bunny” to trend), Bugs was based, in part, on the Norse god of mischief and they are typically nonbinary or trans. Bugs has a history of dressing in drag/blurring the lines of sexuality. (RuPaul once said that Bugs was his first introduction to drag.) And this actually came to be in the 1980s, when trans and gay rights activists adopted the character as a symbol for their culture.
When activists told Chuck Jones, one of the animators behind the character (and arguably one of the most important animators in the 20th century), he canonically accepted that Bugs was, indeed, trans or nonbinary. (At the time he didn’t have the right terminology, often referring to the character as “transexual,” an outdated and potentially harmful term today. But he was trying!)
Jones wrote about Bugs’ sexuality in his book “Chuck Amok: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist,” which was published back in 1990 and film scholars have been discussing the “gender play” of Bugs ever since. If DeSantis is worried about children being indoctrinated by progressive ideas in their animated programming, he’s very, very late (see below).
Twitter users were fast point out that Bugs had a history of wearing dressing, slapping on some lipstick and batting his eyes. Here are just a handful of those speaking out:
Apparently he's never watched Bugs Bunny. pic.twitter.com/idPXRIbJt2
— Roger Ramjet (@Oregon_CDR_USNR) April 29, 2022
A generation grew up watching Bugs Bunny in a dress kissing Elmer Fudd, then went off to fight WW2. I think we’ll be fine. https://t.co/BF9xzRqUNH
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) April 29, 2022
Bugs Bunny is a drag queen
I w3ill not be convinced otherwise— Ashe “Anxious Crip Assassin” Grey MACDS (@crippledscholar) April 29, 2022
Also is a cartoons sexuality really what’s concerning when most characters are trying to MURDER the other? ie Elmer shooting Bugs Bunny, Wile E Coyote trying to blow up Road Runner – Tom trying to kill Jerry etc – I think this generation will survive an animated gay character
— Brian Drolet (@briandrolet) April 29, 2022
How did I never realize Bugs Bunny was gender fluid????
That's so cool pic.twitter.com/YxTGxRJ1kW— Nab (@nab1803) April 29, 2022
Sexuality has always been in cartoons. Pepe Le Pew (ironically which the left cancelled but the right wanted to keep) Bugs Bunny loved Lola Bunny. Mickey loves Minnie – Beauty loved Beast – 2dogs share 1 spaghetti – sexuality in toons is not new stop hating gay community so much! https://t.co/7GPXgtYHXm
— Brian Drolet (@briandrolet) April 29, 2022
Claiming that Bugs Bunny was promoting "queer identity" to children in the '40s and '50s is a level of gaslighting and reaching that I never thought I'd see.
But when it comes to these idpol-obsessed narcissists, ain't no mountain high enough…ain't no valley low enough…— The Baroness (@BaronessSnark87) April 29, 2022
Chuck Jones in his later years considered Bugs Bunny "Trans and Beyond the Binary" in support of the Trans Community. Conservatives would lose their shit if Chuck was alive and said this today. https://t.co/xa6sa6rnam pic.twitter.com/WRg3CtlYgb
— Zak Wood (Commission OPEN: 2/10 Full) (@ZakaZ96) April 29, 2022
Ron DeSantis ( Governor of Florida): When we were kids we could watch cartoons and not have to worry.
Bugs Bunny:hold my carrot juice.
— Ken W.
? (@KenW9270) April 29, 2022