Disney appears to have quietly removed a blooper from new versions of “Toy Story 2” that references the so-called “casting couch,” a term for predatory men in the entertainment industry offering career opportunities in exchange for sexual favors.
Eagle-eyed viewers pointed out the deletion on the site ReRelease News and online forums last month. According to the reports, which resurfaced Wednesday, the scene isn’t on the newest Blu-ray version of the 1999 animated film or on digital downloads.
Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The scene, which appeared in bloopers during the movie’s end credits, shows Stinky Pete the Prospector sexually harassing two Barbie dolls. The character, who is voiced by Kelsey Grammer, suggests he can offer them a role in “Toy Story 3” in exchange for sexual favors.
Rumors of the “casting couch” ― and, specifically, now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s alleged predatory behavior ― roiled Hollywood for years, and even became a punchline. Numerous actresses and Weinstein employees went public with their allegations in 2017, catalyzing the Me Too movement.
Weinstein has also been accused of blacklisting actresses, and many have said that they were forced out of the entertainment industry or faced severe career setbacks because of him and other alleged sexual predators in Hollywood.
Disney has also faced sexual misconduct claims within its company. Pixar co-founder John Lasseter resigned last June amid allegations that he had sexually harassed female employees.
Months later, Lasseter got a new gig as the head of the animation division for Skydance Media. The hire sparked criticism from Time’s Up, an organization fighting sexual harassment, as well as from women in the animation industry.
Earlier this year, actress Emma Thompson quit a Skydance Animation project in protest. In a letter to the company later published in the Los Angeles Times, Thompson blasted its executives for enabling Lasseter’s career comeback and hiring a man who “made women at his companies feel undervalued and disrespected for decades.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
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