Hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg has once again stoked the fires of cultural war after lambasting children’s films with LGBTQ+ representation, specifically citing the most recent entry to the Toy Story franchise, 2022’s Lightyear. In an interview with It’s Giving podcast host Sarah Fontenot last week, the rapper vented about taking his grandson to see the animated feature and being unprepared for having to answer his grandchild’s questions about a same-sex couple included in the film.

Lightyear, an attempt to extend the Toy Story brand with a “real” version of Buzz Lightyear — the science-fiction space ranger that inspired the toy counterpart in the Toy Story world — has been a topic of controversy over its representation of a character in a same-sex relationship. The film included a scene in which two women share a quick kiss, and though the scene was later removed following conservative backlash, Disney later restored it after criticism from Pixar employees and LGBTQ+ activists.

Snoop, however, shared on the podcast that he was still unable to prepare for the questions his grandson asked during the film. “Why, my grandso,n in the middle of the movie, like, ‘Papa Snoop, how she have a baby with a woman? She is a woman,” he told Fontenot. “Oh s—, I didn’t come in for this s—. I just came to watch the g—— movie.”

The rapper explained that he had no answers for his grandson and could only tell him to watch more of the film to find out. “They just said, and 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 aspect that Snoop Dogg claims most caught him off guard was being asked by a child a question that he had not previously considered. “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.”

Pushback Against Comments and Backlash Over Lightyear

Snoop Dogg’s comments have since received backlash from many online progressives, with many noting that the rapper is set to perform at the Australian Football League’s (AFL) Grand Final in September of this year. PinkNews reported that AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan defended the decision to retain Snoop Dogg as a headliner for the show. The AFL, which has attempted to promote inclusion and diversity in the past, has not indicated that Snoop Dogg’s performance would be cancelled.

Lightyear’s same-sex kiss was a topic of debate well before Snoop Dogg aired his grievances over it, with the topic of LGBTQ+ content being included in children’s films becoming an area of sharp disagreement between the left and right. The film’s critical and commercial failure also played a part in the attention the moment received.

Snoop Dogg may be late to the conversation, but Lightyear’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ content from the get-go were at the time seen as Disney emboldening itself against right-wing pressure to censor. Released in June 2022, Disney cut the same-sex moment from the film after receiving backlash from conservatives over the LGBTQ+ moment in the film. The company later reinstated the scene after Pixar employees and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups weighed in.

In a Reuters Television interview at the time, Lightyear and Buzz Lightyear voice actor Chris Evans defended the decision to include an LGBTQ+ moment. “The real truth is those people are idiots,” Evans said, referencing the backlash that the scene received. “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.”

Chris Evans’ comments as Buzz Lightyear in Lightyear.

Lightyear, at the time of its release, was not received particularly well, despite being a direct prequel to the Toy Story series, one of Pixar’s most popular film franchises of all time. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command was intended to be the source of Buzz Lightyear, the toy in the Toy Story films, and as such, had similar expectations of box office and critical performance. Lightyear, though well-marketed and beloved by fans of the Toy Story series, has grossed less than $226 million worldwide and received mixed-to-average reviews from critics and audiences.

Snoop Dogg’s statements, while now years removed from the film’s actual release, have once again added a layer to the conversations around LGBTQ+ content and its place in children’s films. For some, his comments highlight a problem in the industry of catering to left-wing audiences without regard for how some children will react and the questions it may bring up. For others, Snoop Dogg’s lack of preparedness for discussing topics with children highlights a problem of cultural ignorance that conservative commentators love to use as political talking points.