Rapper Snoop Dogg has added to ongoing culture wars by saying he did not appreciate a moment of LGBTQ+ representation in the children’s film Lightyear.

In an interview for the It’s Giving podcast last week, the hip-hop veteran described how his grandson had accompanied him to see the movie in the cinema. He ended up panicking because he did not know how to explain the same-sex couple featured in the film when his grandson interrupted the film to ask a question.

Lightyear, which is a Pixar animated movie released in 2022, was a spinoff from the Toy Story franchise, and it briefly showed a female character with a same-sex partner. The pair shared a kiss in the film, which Disney initially cut in response to complaints. However, it was later restored after the company received internal criticism and claims from LGBTQ+ advocates that diversity was not being represented.

Snoop Dogg was giving his reaction to the movie on the podcast when he said his grandson interrupted him. “Why, my grandson in the middle of the movie, like, ‘Papa Snoop, how does she have a baby with a woman? She is a woman,” he said. “Oh s—, I didn’t come in for this s—. I just came to watch the g—— movie.”

He added that he did not know what to say and asked his grandson to sit tight. “They just said she had a baby. They are both women. How does she have a baby? S—. The movie ain’t over with,” the rapper continued. “I’m scared to go to the movies. Like y’all throwing me in the middle of s— that I don’t have an answer for.”

For Snoop Dogg, the most frustrating part about it all was that children are naturally curious about such themes and will ask questions about them if they see them in a movie. This, he said, left parents and grandparents scrambling when confronted with a question from their kids. “It threw me for a loop,” he said. “These are kids that we have to show that at this age, like, they’re going to ask questions. They are going to ask. I don’t have an answer. And I was just there to go to sleep and watch the movie. That s— woke me up.”

Reaction to Snoop Dogg’s Statement and More Backlash

The rapper has faced some backlash on social media after making the comments, especially since he is due to appear in Australia later this year to perform at the Australian Football League’s Grand Final in November. PinkNews reported that Gillon McLachlan, AFL’s chief executive, defended keeping the rapper in the lineup despite the controversy. He was also asked if Snoop Dogg’s performance would be affected, to which McLachlan replied, “We are not changing our position one iota.”

The AFL is a professional sports league that has made efforts to show support for inclusion and diversity in recent years, such as changing the rulebook to respect trans athletes’ gender identities in official matches. In that sense, it is not clear if the league will officially react or distance itself from Snoop Dogg, who has also made numerous homophobic remarks in the past. At the time of writing, no indication from the AFL’s side suggested that Snoop Dogg would be canceled.

Lightyear also had previously been dragged into a culture war over LGBTQ+ representation, following its release in June 2022. Conservatives raged over the same-sex kiss, which was a part of the narrative, and claimed that it was not appropriate for a film that was advertised as being for children. Disney later restored the scene following an internal backlash and criticism from LGBTQ+ groups.

Chris Evans, who voices Buzz Lightyear, explained to Reuters Television that he had no problem with this in the film. “The real truth is those people are idiots,” he said. “There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs. I think the goal is to pay them no mind, march forward, and embrace the growth that makes us human.”

Lightyear was a spinoff about Buzz Lightyear as a “real” sci-fi character, who — in the world of Toy Story — inspired the toy version of Buzz. The big-budget film did not perform as well as hoped and received mediocre reviews. It earned just over $226 million at the worldwide box office.