‘Howard’ Documentary Will Remain On Disney+
May 24, 2023The ‘Howard’ documentary will not be removed from the Disney+ service.
“The list of titles coming off of Hulu and Disney+ next week is still being finalized,” a rep for the company said, indicating that there could be additional changes.
As revealed by Canal+ last week, ‘Howard’ was on the list of titles Disney had sent to its international partners, informing them that they will be taken off the platform May 26. The authenticity of the list was confirmed by ‘Deadline’.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Since the titles were made public yesterday, Disney had received backlash over the pending removal of ‘Howard’ — about famous lyricist Howard Ashman, a gay man, who co-wrote the songs for Disney’s 'Little Mermaid’ animated classic — and its timing, on the eve of the release of the live-action ‘Little Mermaid’ movie and LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Disney is taking some heat following news yesterday that it will be removing dozens of titles from its Disney+ and Hulu streaming services on May 26, including some LGBTQ+-themed content.
One commenter wrote, “Did you enjoy Disney’s The Little Mermaid in theaters? Then come to Disney+ where we spit on the grave of the man responsible for it by removing the excellent documentary film HOWARD” I am paralyzed with fury right now.”
Another wrote: “Disney+ is removing Howard, the documentary about the man who literally saved that company, as well as their only real acknowledgment of a queer figurehead within the studio, right before Pride month. It’s time for Gay Wrath.”
Another Disney series which is being pulled from the service, ‘Willow’, also has an LGBTQ+ focus. One commenter wrote: “Another disturbing aspect here with the removal of #Willow, it’s one of their few LGBTQ+ projects. Certainly sends the wrong kind of message in the wake of Disney’s fight with DeSantis and anti-LGBTQ+ politics. Feels icky they’re removing it and sort caves to these bigots.”
The move, which comes with a content impairment charge of $1.5 billion (approximately £1.2 billion) to $1.8 billion (approximately £1.4 billion), was announced during the recent Disney earnings call on May 10. The nearly 60 affected titles that have emerged consist largely of short-lived original series, direct-to-streaming movies and specials.
“We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation,” CFO Christine McCarthy said. At the time, no details were provided on the content that would be removed.
Read related myGwork articles here:
New Disney Documentary ‘Howard’ Celebrates Queer Genius Behind Some Of Its Biggest Musical Hits
Openly Gay Actor Fra Fee Joins Disney+’s ‘Beauty and The Beast’ Prequel Series
Tom Hiddleston Talks Loki's Gender Fluidity & Getting A Disney+ Series
Disney+ Announce Docuseries About The Struggle For LGBT+ Rights In The US
Keep up to date with the latest myGnews