Two new data points suggest Hollywood needed to be leaned on to bring diversity to screens large and small.
Call it Kicking and Screaming Mode. And, wth woke's retreat, the industry will neither kick nor scream.
Few industries embraced the woke revolution harder than La La Land. It wasn't just the virtue-signaling stars, although they flooded the zone in impressive fashion. The industry revamped the Oscars, the ultimate Hollywood prize, to reflect the new diversity or bust agenda.
Actors pushed "inclusion riders" where contracts demanded gender and racial diversity.
And let's not start on the stories themselves. Films and TV shows changed, sometimes radically, to reflect the new woke bylaws. Fox's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" turned its final season into a not-so-veiled critique of law enforcement.
Heck, someone should write a book about it. Oh, wait.
All of the above boosted some diversity numbers within the industry. More representation, and less jobs for straight white males. Just ask comedian Tyler Fischer how that works. The versatile comic sued his representation for allegedly using his skin color against him.
The movement had more than a kernel of guilt behind it. For years, Hollywood didn't give everyone a fair shake. Now, it was time to correct the record.
Or over-correct, to be precise.
Now, new numbers suggest that forced diversity is fading.
GLAAD's latest report shows that gay/lesbian film characters declined, again, for the third year. The impact was more profound on the kiddie film front. The Hollywood Reporter notes that animated family films lacked a single LGBTQ character, while transgender representation cratered. Major film studios released 225 films last year without a single trans character.
Remember how Team Disney did some serious backpedaling at the end of 2024 for the Disney+ series "Win or Lose?" That youthful series was supposed to feature a trans character, but the final cut was another matter.
Disney cut a trans storyline from Pixar's WIN OR LOSE, explaining:
— Zack Sharf (@ZSharf) December 17, 2024
“When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”https://t.co/1GzdKAXYYB
Gay characters still exist in the media. Take "Heated Rivalry," the hit HBO Max drama about a romance between two gay hockey players. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's simply up to Hollywood to tell stories from all walks of life. Except, of course, faith-friendly yarns or conservative dramas.
On the awards season front, the media is outraged by the latest Emmy nominations. No, journalists aren't upset that "Yellowstone" maestro Taylor Sheridan got shut out, again. Instead, they're miffed that the nominees weren't diverse enough.
Emmy Awards diversity takes steep dive as nominated actors of color decrease while fans blast The Pitt's nods https://t.co/t2DwUsbMV9
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) July 9, 2026
The various "outraged" articles will find little traction, here's betting. Talented actors of color have perfromed admirably in recent years. They'll do so again, and they'll be honored appropriately.
And,when they do, no one will be able to say they didn't earn it.
