Controversy Continues As Rep Insists Snoop Dogg Did Not Write Viral 'Lightyear' Apology

Snoop Dogg is still under fire after controversial remarks about LGBTQIA+ representation in children’s movies, with fans and critics demanding clarity on where the rapper stands. The 53-year-old hip-hop icon sparked outrage after admitting on the "It’s Giving" podcast that he felt “scared to go to the movies” when blindsided by a same-sex couple depicted in Pixar’s 2022 film "Lightyear." While it appeared Snoop Dogg addressed the backlash in a comment left on an Instagram post, his rep now says otherwise.

During a recent podcast appearance, Snoop Dogg recalled taking his grandchildren to see the "Toy Story" spinoff, which features a montage of two women marrying, raising a child, and sharing Disney’s first on-screen same-sex kiss. The rapper admitted he panicked when his grandson asked how two women could have a baby. “Oh sh-t. I didn’t come in for this sh-t. I just came to watch the goddamn movie,” he said, explaining that he tried to brush off his grandson’s questions by telling him, “Hey man, just watch the movie.”

The remarks triggered immediate backlash online, with many fans calling his reaction homophobic and dismissive of LGBTQIA+ families.

As the backlash escalated, social media users pointed to an Instagram comment left under a Hollywood Unlocked post that appeared to show Snoop Dogg apologizing. The comment, written beneath a clip of activist Ts Madison criticizing him, read:

“I was just caught off guard and had no answer for my grandsons. All my gay friends [know] what’s up, they been calling me with love. My bad for not knowing the answers for a 6-yr-old. Teach me how to learn. I’m not perfect.”

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, a representative for Snoop denies the rapper ever wrote those words. The rep claimed that “someone claiming to be the rapper” left the message, but that Snoop Dogg himself never addressed the controversy directly. It remains unclear who is behind the comments.

The scene at the center of the controversy has been a flashpoint since the film’s release. When "Lightyear" premiered in 2022, the inclusion of a same-sex couple briefly raising a child sparked pushback from some viewers. Disney initially removed the sequence from the film but quickly reinstated it following internal backlash and public outcry.

Chris Evans, who voiced Buzz Lightyear, defended the storyline at the time, telling Variety, “It’s nice, and it’s wonderful, it makes me happy [to have such inclusion]. [But] it’s tough to not be a little frustrated that it even has to be a topic of discussion. That it is this kind of ‘news.’”

“The goal is that we can get to a point where it is the norm, and that this doesn’t have to be some uncharted waters, that eventually this is just the way it is,” Evans added. “That representation across the board is how we make films.”

One reason "Lightyear" sparked such heated discussion is because openly LGBTQ characters have been so rare throughout Pixar’s history. In the studio’s nearly 30 years of storytelling, only a few examples stand out. In 2019, "Toy Story 4" included a brief moment where two mothers drop off their child at kindergarten. The following year, in "Onward," Lena Waithe voiced a cyclops police officer who casually referenced having a girlfriend.

But perhaps the boldest step came with Pixar’s short film "Out," released on Disney+ as part of the SparkShorts series. The nine-minute feature told the story of a young gay man preparing to come out to his parents, a landmark moment for the studio and a reminder of how limited LGBTQ representation has been in its major releases.

The debate over "Lightyear" arrived while Disney was already under intense scrutiny for how it handled LGBTQ issues. In early 2022, the company came under fire for staying quiet on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, better known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts classroom discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in lower grades. The silence didn’t sit well with many employees, fans, and advocacy groups, who accused Disney of failing to stand up for its LGBTQ audience.

Only after mounting pressure from inside and outside the company did then-CEO Bob Chapek issue a public statement opposing the law. He promised that Disney would step up support for organizations working to defend LGBTQ rights.