The Conversation (0)
James Besanvalle
Feb 26, 2020
Image:
Getty/Instagram
Hey now (hey now), who would’ve thought Hilary Duff would be sending subtle shade to Disney?
Let’s give some background to the situation.
In the works right now, there’s a TV show spin-off for the gay coming-of-age film, Love, Simon.
But Disney's streaming service Disney+ reportedly had second thoughts about airing it because it tackles “alcohol use and sexual exploration”.
According to an anonymous source who spoke to Variety:
Disney felt many issues explored on the show, including alcohol use and sexual exploration, would not fit in with the family-friendly content on Disney+.
So they announced they were moving it from Disney+ to Hulu (which Disney also owns).
Backlash ensued, with many LGBTQ+ people taking to social media to ask Disney why portraying a gay love story isn’t considered “family-friendly”:
Cue Hilary Duff sweeping in to defend Love, Simon and, as her 2003 hit-song would say, Why Not?
The 32-year-old Lizzie McGuire star took to Instagram this morning (26 February) to share a news headline about the controversy, which read:
Love, Simon TV Show Pulled From Disney+ as It's Not 'Family-Friendly'
Posting to her Instagram story, Hilary simply wrote:
Sounds familiar…
But what does she mean? Is she referring to a similar issue surrounding her upcoming Lizzie McGuire reboot and why it has stalled? Are there issues in her own spin-off that were deemed not ‘family-friendly’ enough?
In October, it emerged the Lizzie McGuire reboot will feature an openly gay character too.
Then in January, production of the reboot stalled after a lead TV writer quit.
So, many people began wildly speculating after Duff posted the cryptic Instagram story with the ominous ellipsis:
The Love, Simon TV series is due in June 2020, while the Lizzie McGuire reboot is due for sometime this year.
More: Hilary Duff shares important Instagram post about celebrity 'body flaws'