If you have not paid attention recently, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has issues with the Disney corporation. They have fought over control of the Disney World resort area, the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and now, SNL says DeSantis is queer, too.
The show brought in Bowen Yang as Jafar from the Aladdin film series to castigate the likely 2024 presidential candidate during a recent Weekend Update segment. DeSantis has been angry Disney has apparently outmaneuvered those he picked to oversee their resort area after changing state law, and, while mentioning this, Yang’s Jafar reminded audiences DeSantis enjoys wearing high-heel boots (combined with his white ones, this is not exactly a traditionally masculine look), and Disney is rooted in gay subtext. From its villains to even some of its heroes, everyone is a little bit off the “regular” beaten path society encourages people to be on.
“My final form is a yoked genie with gorgeous nails and a micro-pony, but, yeah Michael, I love c**ch … Ursula is a lesbian, Scar is bi, and Mulan just got top surgery, congrats to them. If there’s no gay, there is no Disney and everyone loves Disney.”
Yang’s Jafar then wrapped his remarks by reminding audiences LGBTQ+ couples regularly get married at Disney’s resorts and cruise ships, and so did DeSantis years ago (to be fair, even he is aware of the irony and admitted as such in his pre-presidential run book he recently published). For Yang’s Jafar, this is not exactly heteronormative behavior, and he makes sure that Ron knows.
“So, I am sorry, Ms. DeSantey. The gays shall stay, and you sashay away.”
At this time, there is no indication the bit has hurt the governor’s feelings in the same way the show has hurt his rival for the Republican Party’s nomination, former President Donald Trump, in the past through multiple sketches and Alec Baldwin bits touching on everything from his greed to racist behavior to fears of being prosecuted for something he thought was fine. However, it is possible his thin skin could emerge later on. DeSantis has not done any extensive media interviews apart from friendly outlets and, in the Florida Legislature, fellow Republicans are trying to insulate him from even more criticism by filing a bill which would require writers to register with the state before publishing articles about him, though it is not yet officially a law as of writing this.