Credit: Inside the MagicWho knew Disney could be so controversial?
Well, everyone knows that. In fact, it’s been at the center of some pretty major controversies in the 100 years of the company’s existence. However, things have hit warp speed in the past week with the news of Disney filing a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in response to his retaliation toward the company for speaking out against his Parental Rights in Education Act, or “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Despite both DeSantis and Disney having their supporters, the general public seems to be in agreement; DeSantis doesn’t stand a chance against Disney’s lawyers. Not only does Disney have enormous legal resources and an all-star legal team, but the case is seemingly clear-cut. Disney is suing DeSantis for violating their First Amendment rights and was able to file a 77-page complaint full of direct quotes from DeSantis and his board stating their clear and explicit targeting of the company.
This has led to not only a lot of discussion and coverage but a lot of jokes on social media. People seem to be sitting back and breaking out the popcorn in anticipation of the bloodbath to come, and most have no issues making jokes at DeSantis’ expense. However, one major satirical platform may have taken things a little far. Satire website The Onion shared this Tweet in response to the Disney-DeSantis feud.
Goofy Beats Ron DeSantis To Death With Crowbar https://t.co/HuwwokifJi pic.twitter.com/bi1VNd2y2G
— The Onion (@TheOnion) April 28, 2023
While the Tweet is a pretty good summation of how intensely many feel Disney will destroy DeSantis legally, the implied violence was a bridge too far for some. A recently-implemented Twitter feature now pushes the replies of those who subscribe to Twitter Blue (and have blue checkmarks) to the top, so we can see some vocal (if not popular) opinions in response to the Tweet.
“This Onion article is very, very offending. Please take this fictional piece down. Before I lose my mind.” said @Rose_Cones, which strangely enough, appears to be a specialty joint-rolling company. Another Twitter user, @Audjuice9989, added “Who in the board was responsible for writing this? This is taken way too far.”
People seem to be less upset about the characterization of someone as lovable as Goofy and more so about the implied violence toward the Florida Governor. @fugitivemama posed “Somehow this sounds like a threat and not parody. What’s wrong with you people?” Another user replied to her; “Do you think Goofy is real?”
Many other users replied that they had reported the Tweet for “inciting violence” or tagged Twitter CEO Elon Musk in the replies to ask him to do something. Scrolling past the Twitter Blue replies, though, leads to an onslaught of those who find the Tweet hilarious or are simply enjoying watching the back-and-forth arguments in the replies.