Credit: DisneyDisney cast members accuse Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort of providing toxic makeup products to character performers.
Entertainment cast members, specifically character performers, bring the magic of onscreen favorites to life at the Disney parks. Characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are known as “fur characters,” while Peter Pan and Disney Princesses are called “face characters.”
Face character performers learn strict makeup routines from The Walt Disney Company’s artists, ensuring that every Disney cast member perfectly embodies their onscreen counterpart. Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort provide the products, but entertainment cast members usually apply makeup themselves after training.
Controversy erupted when popular theatrical makeup brand Ben Nye was sued over using talc in its makeup. Abestos-contaminated talcum powder is behind tens of thousands of cases of mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and other diseases.
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Former Disney Princess performer @kayla.g21 recently spoke out about the case on TikTok. She insisted Walt Disney World Resort compensate its cast members for potential asbestos exposure, which she also claimed was present in the utilidors beneath Magic Kingdom Park.
@kayla.g21 well if the mesothelioma doesn’t take me out, Disney will for exposing this 💀
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“You’re telling me that Disney forced me and other performers to wear Ben Nye products that had talc and asbestos in it?” the former Disney cast member asked. “Who is sending me that settlement check?”
The former character performer said she wore the Ben Nye products for eight years. She also alleged that Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort leadership is telling performers that they confirmed the makeup was safe.
“Disney said they sent it off to a lab for third-party testing, and it was ‘fine,’” she said. “It’s super convenient how they got those test results back in less than a week, and cosmetologists in Disney World and [Disneyland] are giving the same answers to scared performers when asked questions. It’s almost as if the higher-ups told them exactly what to say.”
The former character performer alleged that Walt Disney World Resort confirmed asbestos existed in the utilidor tunnels under Magic Kingdom Park.
“Honestly, the most concerning thing is all the asbestos inside the tunnels, and they think they can just get away with it because they have signs warning of it,” she claimed. “That’s wild…Disney, y’all better tighten up.”
“If the mesothelioma doesn’t take me out, Disney will for exposing this,” the former Disney employee concluded.
Ben Nye filed for bankruptcy amid multiple ongoing lawsuits and claimed it stopped using talc in January 2024. It maintains that none of the talcum powder it used was contaminated with asbestos.
The allegations come days after Disneyland Resort unions won a battle against the Southern California Disney park. After spending weeks passing out information and union buttons to guests, Disney cast members won one of the biggest pay hikes in decades.
Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort haven’t responded publicly to the Disney cast members’ allegations. It’s unclear if performers at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios still use Ben Nye makeup.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks experience. No two experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.