SUSANNA Reid has slammed outraged Disney fans who are demanding a new Snow White ride is scrapped because it “promotes kissing without consent”.
Disneyland’s popular Snow White ride in California is under fire for its “true love’s kiss” scene, which shows the Prince kissing the sleeping princess.
Critics claim the cartoon character was being kissed against her will and have likened it to a sexual assault.
They blasted Disneyland for including the famous scene from the 1937 cartoon in the revamped ride in Anaheim.
On today’s Good Morning Britain, baffled Susanna said: “I mean, really? Are we also going to update it so it doesn’t have all of those animals able to do sort of superhuman things?
“Are we also going to change it so you don’t give poisoned apples to people that you don’t like?
“You know, this is Disney. It’s not real life.”
She revealed her frustration about the hot topic in a debate with dating historian Nichi Hodgson, who believes Disney “has a responsibility to change the plot line”.
Nichi replied: “It’s not real life, but it’s really important to know that the original story from 1812 didn’t feature the kiss at the end.
“Disney invented that in 1937 when the film came out and it’s nearly 80 years old.
“It was brought about in the depression and was meant to cheer people up.
“It was also at a time when women didn’t have the same rights to push men back and when we didn’t treat children with such reverence.
“We talk now to kids about consent, having a body bubble and about people not being able to come into their space – and this goes against all of that.”
Unimpressed by her argument, Susanna later added: “It’s not even as if it’s a historical story, it’s not even true.
“It was never true, like everything else in the film we have suspended our belief about.”
The theme park experience reopened on Friday after been shuttered for a year with coronavirus and overhauled with new features and scenes.
The ride previously focussed on the Evil Queen and Snow White’s “Scary Journey” but now, it incorporates the Prince kissing Snow White and breaking her stepmother’s curse.
SFGate reviewers claim the fictional kiss was given “without [Snow White’s] consent, while she’s asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it’s happening.”
They wrote: “Haven’t we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn’t been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK?”
“It’s hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old-fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman.
“Especially given the company’s current emphasis on removing problematic scenes from rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain.
“Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White’s place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?”
Disney updated its Jungle Cruise, which was blasted for its depictions of native peoples, while Splash Mountain is also being overhauled.
The 1937 cartoon has come under fire in the past by Japanese professor Kazue Muta of Osaka University, who likened the Prince’s kiss to sexual assault.
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