Gasps followed by laughter and applause became Sunday’s Tony Awards most highlighted moment after Hamilton star and Florida native Denee Benton referred to Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis as a Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard during her presentation.
Benton, 31, made the dig at DeSantis, who has been criticized for his support of HB 1557 titled the Parental Rights in Education bill but dubbed by its critics the “Don’t Say Gay'' bill while she was bestowing the Excellence in Theatre Education Award from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Those angered by the bill criticize its elimination of discussion of gender identity in children.
“Hi, I’m Denée Benton, actor and proud CMU alum. And while I’m certain that the current grand wizard—I’m sorry, excuse me—governor of my home state of Florida,” Benton quipped, as she referred to DeSantis by the title given to the national leader of the KKK. “I am sure that he will be changing the name of this following town immediately. We were honored to present this award to the truly incredible and life-changing Jason Zembuch Young, enhancing the lives at students at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida.”
Because of an ongoing writers’ strike, presenters made their own speeches.
But those who opposed the bill have expressed their dismay at the terms “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” as vague and leaving that timetable up to interpretation. LGBT advocates say they’re concerned that children of same-sex parents won’t be able to take part in school discussions about family.
It also again brought attention to the conflicts surrounding some of the Sunshine State’s policies. A new Advanced Placement course on African American studies, which while including literature, arts, science, politics, and geography, was blocked for advocating for “abolishing prisons” and including the study of “queer theory.”
At a January press conference in Jacksonville, Florida, DeSantis said: “That’s a political agenda. That’s the wrong side of the line for Florida standards. We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don’t believe they should have an agenda imposed on them when you try to use black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.”
Disney Controversy
DeSantis is also engaged in an ongoing battle with Walt Disney Co. and Walt Disney World in Florida. The two have been at odds over HB 1557 and what has been referred to as Disney’s “woke” policies. Disney has been working to make its theme parks more gender-neutral, even eliminating its longstanding greeting welcoming “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” and now addresses guests as “dreamers of all ages.”While Disney has previously said in a statement that HB 1557 never should have passed and the company is working to repeal the law, others have accused the company of being too inclusive and incorporating adult sexualization and homosexuality into their films.
“This state is governed by the interests of the people of the state of Florida. It is not based on the demands of California corporate executives,” DeSantis said during a press conference about that decision.
In response, Disney filed a lawsuit against the Florida state government, alleging it has been unlawfully targeted in retaliation for the company exercising its right to free speech.
