Rapper Snoop Dogg has once again stoked the fires of controversy after aiming for LGBTQ+ representation in children’s films. The hip-hop veteran homed in on a specific scene from Pixar’s Lightyear in an appearance last week on the It’s Giving podcast with Sarah Fontenot.

Snoop recalled taking his grandson to the theater to watch the family-friendly adventure, at one point finding himself struggling to explain same-sex relationships. “Why, my grandson in the middle of the movie, like, ‘Papa Snoop, how does she have a baby with a woman? She is a woman,” the rapper said. “Oh s—, I didn’t come in for this s—. I just came to watch the g—— movie.”

The LA native later revealed that he had no answer for the young boy and told him to just watch on. “They just said she had a baby,” he continued. “They are both women. How does she have a baby? S—. The movie ain’t over with. 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.”

A Response to Seeing Two Mothers on Screen

Lightyear is a spinoff of the massively successful Toy Story franchise and has been in theaters since June last year. The movie, which was initially slated for release in 2020, features a Buzz Lightyear character who is not the toy from the original film but the “real” person, the sci-fi space adventurer.

It was the inclusion of one of Lightyear’s friends who is in a same-sex relationship that drew Snoop’s ire, with the film showing a brief kiss shared between the male character and his girlfriend. Disney cut the scene from the movie in response to conservative criticism last year, only to reinstate it after Pixar employees pushed back on the decision and LGBTQ+ advocates decried it as exclusionary.

For Snoop, the incident left him unprepared to field his grandson’s questions about how two women might have a child together. “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.”

Reaction to Snoop’s Comments on Lightyear

Snoop’s comments were met with a wave of anger online. Particularly given that the rapper is due to perform at the Australian Football League’s Grand Final later this year, the backlash has been significant. PinkNews noted that AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan stood by the decision to retain Snoop as a guest performer. The Australian sports league, which has been vocal in the past on its support for inclusion and diversity, has given no sign that it plans to cancel the rapper’s appearance.

Chris Evans Defended ‘Lightyear’ From Conservatives

It was not the first time the decision to include the moment in Lightyear had drawn criticism. When the film debuted in June last year, several conservative commentators complained that it was “too much” for a kids’ movie. Disney initially agreed, removing the exchange in the movie. However, several Pixar employees, as well as LGBTQ+ activists, decried the move as regressive, after which it was reinstated.

Chris Evans, who provides the voice for the titular character in the film, pushed back strongly on the criticism at the time. In an interview with Reuters Television, the Marvel star said that he found the movie’s detractors to be “idiotic.” Evans’ full quote was, “The real truth is those people are idiots,” he said. “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.”

Lightyear has underperformed at the box office relative to the marketing dollars behind it and Disney’s expectations, earning just over $226 million globally since debuting. It was meant to capitalize on the success of the Toy Story films, introducing a “new” Buzz Lightyear into the canon and allowing audiences to see the world of their favorite toys in a different way.

Feature Film Gets Mixed Reviews

Audience reviews have been mixed, with particular condemnation of the action sequences as flat and lacking. The inclusion of an LGBTQ+ scene had drawn flak from social conservatives before Snoop Dogg, but to much less effect, as the studio has been keen to highlight Lightyear’s positive, inclusive message.

The movie has a fresh 70% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which is a solid score and often a sign of a film that is beloved by critics but divisive among general audiences.

Hits and Misses

The rapper has been similarly embattled before over similar issues. He once, in 2015, called police a “tool of heterosexuals” in an Instagram Live session, after he was arrested in the days prior for an incident involving a suspected carjacking.

It is not yet clear how, if at all, Snoop will be affected by his recent statements. However, as they have added yet another stridently opinionated voice to a conversation that increasingly comes down to people willing to argue both sides equally hard, they will certainly raise his profile in Australia before the AFL Grand Final.