Snoop Dogg’s ‘Lightyear’ Take Proves He’s Wrong About LGBTQ+ Representation

Since his debut as a rapper more than 30 years ago, Snoop Dogg has evolved from a hip-hop hitmaker to a bona fide cultural icon. Through his appearances in family-friendly fare and his collaborations with Martha Stewart, he has managed to soften his harder early image into something surprisingly endearing. As an elder statesman of a genre that’s still relatively young, he’s largely demonstrated a way to age gracefully as a rapper.

But even the most likable public figures have their blind spots. In a recent appearance on the It’s Giving podcast, Snoop expressed his frustration over the queer characters in Pixar’s 2022 Toy Story spinoff Lightyear, complaining that it raised questions from his grandson that he wasn’t prepared to answer. Rather than see this as a teaching moment, Snoop instead fell back into the old rhetoric that’s become commonplace, that it’s too early to “expose” children to queerness. Unfortunately, it’s not the only time he’s expressed similar beliefs.

Snoop’s Troubling History With Homophobia

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

It’s worth saying right off the bat that Snoop is far from the only hip-hop figure to express homophobic sentiments or use derogatory language. Hip-hop has never been seen as a particularly safe space for LGBTQ+ artists, with an overall emphasis on traditional masculinity and plenty of sexism. There have been notable strides in recent years, as artists such as Lil Nas X and Young M.A. have gained increased visibility, alongside straight-identifying artists who present a more fluid form of expression.

But sadly, regressive attitudes persist, and Snoop has made a handful of unsavory remarks in the past, including a 2014 Instagram post showing two men in bed together, accompanied by a homophobic slur. In his podcast appearance, Snoop even went so far as to say he’s “scared” to take his grandkids to the movies out of fear that the presence of queer characters will lead to complex conversations. In the case of Lightyear, a montage of two female characters raising a child together was the catalyst.

However, in reality, explaining how two women can raise a baby together isn’t much more complicated than explaining how a man and a woman conceive a child, and a child asking these kinds of questions isn’t a negative thing, but a sign of their curiosity. Movies and TV shows have always been a way to introduce children to new concepts that they may not understand yet, and Pixar has been one of the best, from Up’s exploration of grief and loss to Inside Out’s introduction to complex emotions.

Rather than take the opportunity to engage his grandson in a conversation, Snoop reacted from a place of fear, questioning whether children should be exposed to non-straight relationships onscreen at all. But children are far more resilient and adaptable than many adults believe, and there’s no reason to think that taking the time to explain same-sex relationships would be in any way damaging to his grandson.

Understandably, he may not have felt qualified to offer that explanation, but parental figures are often put in that position for any number of reasons. Explaining how two women can raise a baby isn’t inherently more complicated than explaining why the sky is blue. In truth, the only danger in having these kinds of conversations stems from the fact that future generations may not hold onto such regressive beliefs when they grow up.

Snoop Dogg as Jaycen wearing a green jacket with a gold whistle at practice in The Underdoggs

Ultimately, Snoop is just one public figure among many, and he’s certainly not the only person to express these kinds of beliefs. However, as a celebrity with a large and diverse fan base, ranging from old-school hip-hop enthusiasts to white suburban mothers, his words carry significant weight. At a time when queer people’s rights are being constantly attacked, when public expressions of queerness are being limited, covered up, or outright banned, when the Supreme Court ruling that federally legalized same-sex marriage has a real chance of being overturned, statements like his are the absolute last thing we need right now.

Given the current administration and its wide-ranging influence over public and private enterprise, it’s very likely that queer representation in media will be severely restricted for the foreseeable future. While studios haven’t necessarily been told outright that they can’t make queer-centric stories, they can read the writing on the wall. The movie business is, ultimately, a business, and those in charge aren’t going to do anything that may affect their bottom line, whether in the form of a public backlash or a blocked merger.

It might seem strange to pick on Snoop Dogg, but whether intentionally or not, his remarks contribute to a very troubling rhetoric that frames queerness and queer people as inherently dangerous to children, making it easier for those in power to continue to limit their freedoms. While Snoop didn’t go so far as to accuse Pixar of “grooming” or any of the more noxious beliefs foisted on queer people, he still positions the depiction of queer characters as something kids shouldn’t see.

America is entering its most hostile period towards queerness in decades, where rhetoric like this is becoming increasingly normalized. Snoop may not have intended his remarks to be interpreted this way, but it’s impossible not to see them as a symptom of a much larger problem. Queerness is as inherent to the human experience as breathing; it has always been a part of us, and it always will be. Right now, we need public figures who are willing to speak out in support of the marginalized, regardless of the potential backlash. It’s disappointing to see someone as beloved as Snoop Dogg doing the opposite, but mainstream culture seems to be going the same way.