Disney has come under fire for a theme park program that it says is suitable for all ages, even though it is littered with raunchy jokes about the characters using the gay dating app Grindr wanting to “bang” each other.
Called Story Time with Deadpool, the show is set at Disney’s California Adventure Park and is based on the Deadpool & Wolverine movie, which hit streaming platforms last week and had the highest domestic debut ever for an R-rated film.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman play the eponymous anti-heroes who reluctantly team up to save the universe.
Although they are characters from Marvel comics and wear colorful costumes, it is anything but a children’s film, as there are plenty of F-bombs, repeated references to hardcore sex acts and jokes about cocaine use.
Disney has come under fire for a theme park show that it says is suitable for all ages, even though it is littered with raunchy jokes about the characters using the gay dating app Grindr
The show is called Story Time with Deadpool and takes place in Disney’s California Adventure Park and is based on the movie Deadpool & Wolverine
The theme park show makes no reference to drugs, but it causes just as much controversy as the movie.
It is Disney’s first character experience at a theme park that promotes an R-rated film and has the format of stand-up comedy. The show features two theme park employees dressed as Deadpool and Wolverine making adult pranks, despite being described on the Disneyland app as “family friendly” and “suitable for all ages.”
In one joke, Deadpool says he’s been on the gay dating app Grindr and seen the profile of Tony Stark, Iron Man’s billionaire alter ego, played by Robert Downey Jr.
In another example, Deadpool volunteers to ‘bash’ a handsome co-worker. In an even nastier segment, Deadpool refers to Wolverine as “the bottom” — a euphemism for a sexual role in a gay relationship.
The Disneyland app says Deadpool’s “stories will delight, charm and inspire,” but not all theme park fans agree.
In the show, Deadpool volunteers to ‘bash’ a handsome co-worker. In an even nastier segment, Deadpool refers to Wolverine as ‘the bottom’
Deadpool & Wolverine hit streaming platforms last week and had the highest domestic debut ever for an R-rated film
One on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, described it as ‘disgraceful and highly inappropriate’.
Another added, “I love the character and his humor, but it doesn’t belong in the Disney parks.”
This was echoed on Instagram with the comment that ‘it’s not allowed in a children’s theme park’, while another user said: ‘The fact that he mentions Grindr in a Disney park is baffling to me.’
Although Deadpool & Wolverine is R-rated, Disney sells action figures of the characters in it.
The company has also announced that Deadpool will also appear on its newest cruise ship next year.
The Disneyland app says Deadpool’s ‘stories will delight, charm and inspire,’ but not all theme park fans agree
“The references to cocaine in Deadpool & Wolverine and the appearance of these characters promoting the film at a Disney theme park and on Disney Cruises are not acceptable,” said Peggy Sapp, president of the National Family Partnership, a campaign group founded in 1980. founded by Nancy Reagan and parents across America in response to rising drug use among young people.
‘We are all ultimately responsible for our behavior, producers, directors and everyone in the film industry cannot pretend that they are just portraying societal norms, they must help make societal norms healthy.
‘Remember when all the movie stars smoked in the movies? How did that ultimately work out? Drugs are no joke, just read Matthew Perry’s book to understand the slippery slope.”
Deadpool & Wolverine are expected to play a role in the upcoming kid-friendly Avengers: Secret Wars movie, making it even more likely that audiences will want to see the character’s adult adventure.
“It is indeed a serious matter,” Sapp continues. ‘Last year, 107,000 young people aged 18 to 45 died from Fentanyl poisoning. Drug use is no joke. Drug use can be prevented if society works together to convey the ‘no drugs’ message. Can we work together or is Disney choosing profit over public health?’
Disney declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.