Meryl Streep + Walt Disney's Grandniece Agree, He Was a Bigot

Credit :TIME

Abigail Disney, the grandniece of Walt Disney, has applauded Meryl Streep for calling the creator of Mickey Mouse a bigoted, misogynistic, anti-Semite.

Sounds about right.

In an attempt to humanize Walt Disney (who may or may not be a cryogenically frozen severed head right now), the Disney company has released the film Saving Mr. Banks, which features Disney played by the loveable Tom Hanks.

Who can hate Tom Hanks? Answer: no one. Smart move Disney company.

This was a decision which upset actress Meryl Streep, who explained in the beginning of January that Disney was not a saintly, loveable man as played by Hanks, but a "gender bigot" who "supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group."

Surprisingly, Abigail agrees with this assessment, writing on her Facebook (via the Hollywood Reporter):

I hadn't heard a word about this Meryl Streep/Walt Disney flap till this morning. Funny how no one mentioned it to me.... Like I was living in some kind of information bubble and nobody wanted to hurt my feelings or something. But if anyone is going to have mixed feelings about a cultural icon, wouldn't it be a member of the family??? More than anyone else???

And if you are going to have mixed feelings about a family member (and we all do) take it from me, you really need to be as honest as possible about those feelings, or else you are going to lead yourself into many a blind alley in life!! ... Anti-Semite? Check. Misogynist? OF COURSE!! Racist? C'mon he made a film (Jungle Book) about how you should stay 'with your own kind' at the height of the fight over segregation!

...

But damn, he was hella good at making films and his work has made billions of people happy. There's no denying it. So there ya go. Mixed feelings up the wazoo.

In a separate Facebook post, Abigail would go on to add:

I feel I have to clarify. I LOVED what Meryl Streep said. I know he was a man of his times and I can forgive him, but Saving Mr Banks was a brazen attempt by the company to make a saint out of the man. A devil he was not. Nor an angel. That's the point and if you read ALL her remarks you'll know that's exactly what she was getting at. She said exactly what I said about how in spite of it all, his vision was amazing and he brought joy to so many around the world. So I say Brava Meryl. I don't believe in bashing for bashing's sake but whenever we see a misplaced attempt at hagiography we need to speak our minds!

Someone get these ladies a meet-up on the tea cups to discuss this further!