After Objecting to LGBTQ+ Censorship, a Gay Marvel Studio Leader Was Fired by Disney
Longtime film producer Victoria Alonso has been abruptly ousted from her role as executive vice president at Marvel Entertainment, and it may have something to do with LGBTQ+ erasure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Alonso, who is married to actress Imelda Corcoran, was let go from Disney earlier this month, with executives at the company alleging she had breached her contract's non-compete clause by taking on a role as one of eight producers of Argentina, 1945 , a historical drama that was nominated for a best international feature Oscar last month. Alongside Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D'Esposito, Alonso was "part of the holy trinity" of leadership at Marvel, according to The Hollywood Reporter .
But in a statement through her lawyer, Patty Glaser, Alonso claimed she had permission from Disney to work on the film, and was actually fired in retaliation for opposing LGBTQ+ erasure at the company.
"Victoria, a gay Latina who had the courage to criticize Disney, was silenced. Then she was terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible," Glaser wrote, adding that there would be "serious consequences" for Alonso's dismissal. On Tuesday, sources at Disney told The Hollywood Reporter that the "reprehensible" request may have been an order to blur LGBTQ+ visuals from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania so the film could be released in Kuwait.
In the film, a storefront displaying rainbow flags and the word "Pride" is visible in two brief exterior scenes. Disney editors scrubbed the storefront, along with references to alcohol and a shot of a character's animated butt cheeks, from the Kuwait release to comply with laws in the country criminalizing LGBTQ+ expression.
It's far from the first time Disney has complied with homophobic laws to release its films in as many markets as possible, even within the MCU alone; the company deleted a gay kiss from the Gulf releases of Eternals in 2021, though the characters' marriage remained in the film. Last year, a collective of Pixar employees penned an open letter alleging that Disney executives routinely purged "[n]early every moment of overtly gay affection" from the studio's films.
A Disney spokesperson told Deadline that Alonso is "sharing a narrative that leaves out several key factors" regarding her dismissal, namely her work on Argentina, 1945 , which was nominated for an Oscar this year.
Alonso's departure foreshadowed another major ousting at Disney, as The New York Times reported Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter, the billionaire conservative and Trump donor who reportedly didn't believe female-led superhero movies would make money, was also fired from his position on the board Wednesday, part of a massive round of layoffs affecting 7,000 people throughout the company.
Get the best of what's queer. Sign up for Them 's weekly newsletter here.
Originally Appeared on them.
