Author Nick Cole Claims Major Hollywood Studio Told Him They “Wouldn’t Produce Content For White, Christian, Trash”
John F. Trent
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Update: Nick Cole has provided further clarification on his comments. He claims he was not referring to Disney in his original tweet thread.
He tweeted, “Also to clarify, as there’s been some confusion: I did not name the Studio that called our audience ‘White Christian Trash.’ It’s a major studio. But I am not naming it as this time and I’m not implying on this thread that it is either Disney or ABC.”
Source: Nick Cole Twitter
Original article contines:
Author Nick Cole of the Galaxy’s Edge series recently claimed that Disney “wouldn’t produce content for white, Christian, trash.”
Cole’s comments came in response to recent statements made by Walt Disney Television’s Chairman of Entertainment Dana Walden.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Walden appeared on a panel put on by Chapman University and Glamour with Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke.
traveljunction, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
During the panel Walden referenced ABC’s new affirmative action policies that the company rolled out back in September 2020.
An email announcing the policies was published by The Hollywood Reporter that claims the “new guidelines are intended to make our content and our sets as inclusive as possible, and will serve as further catalyst for real and sustained change.”
Laika ac from UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The guidelines include four different affirmative action areas. Those areas are On Screen Representation, Creative Leadership, Below-The-Line, and Industry Access & Career Development.
To get an idea of the policy, the On Screen Representation requires at least three of the following standards to be met:
- 50% or more of regular and recurring written characters come from Underrrepresented Groups
- 50% or more of regular and recurring actors come from Underrepresented Groups
- Secondary Characters: Meaningful inclusion of Underrepresented Group as secondary or more minor on-screen individuals, including background characters
- Series Premise: Meaningful integration of Underrepresented Groups in overall themes and narratives
- Episodic Storytelling: Ongoing meaningful integration of Underrepresented Groups in episodic themes and narratives
5/27/1985 The Reagans visit to Epcot Center Disney World photo with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Orlando Florida
Those standards are definitely in effect as Walden stated on the panel, “I will tell you for the first time we received some incredibly well-written scripts that did not satisfy our standards in terms of inclusion, and we passed on them.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Gardner would provide an example of a script Walden received. He wrote, “Walden cited an example of receiving a script centered on a white family with the assumption that the diversity would come with the neighbors.”
Walden stated, “Pass. That’s not going to get on the air anymore because that’s not what our audience wants. That’s not a reflection of our audience, and I feel good about the direction we’re moving.”
Source: NickColeBooks.com
Cole would respond to these comments from Walden on Twitter. He wrote, “Can confirm. Was told regarding a project I helped conceive ‘we wouldn’t produce content for White, Christian, Trash.'”
He added, “There was nothing White or Christian in the military SciFi opera script we were pitching. The turd was referring to our audience.”
Source: Nick Cole Twitter
Cole followed that up writing, “Hollywood is a place filled with the worst people who somehow think they hold the moral high-ground about what gets made while raping girls and molesting small children.
“If Hollywood were a person you wouldn’t let them sit on your couch,” he added.
Source: Nick Cole Twitter
He concluded the thread writing, “Your life would be a lot better and fuller if you stopped watching movies made by deviants and drug addicts. You’d be smarter, thinner, and richer. And your children wouldn’t be destroyed. Seriously.”
Source: Nick Cole Twitter
What do you make of Cole’s comments?
**Editor’s Note: The headline of this article has been updated following an update from Nick Cole clarifying his original tweets.**
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