- calendar_today August 19, 2025
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Rapper Snoop Dogg has again found himself at the center of controversy. While celebrating the 22nd anniversary of his hit 2001 album Tha Last Meal last week, the hip-hop icon launched into a tirade against LGBTQ+ representation in children’s films during an interview on the It’s Giving podcast with Sarah Fontenot. Singling out Pixar’s new film Lightyear, Snoop explained how he recently found himself unable to answer questions from his grandson about the film’s same-sex couple.
Lightyear was originally released in June last year, but only recently made it to theaters in the U.K. The film serves as a spinoff of the Toy Story franchise and as a prequel to the original Toy Story movies, which followed the adventures of Buzz Lightyear, the space-age space superhero, and the adventures of his best friend Woody the cowboy. This year’s movie, which is entirely animated and features a new cast of characters, was billed as a movie about “the real” Buzz Lightyear, although he remains voiced by the Toy Story actor Chris Evans. The inclusion of a same-sex relationship in the movie, which features a kiss between two women, sparked a mini culture war against what critics perceived as the “bowdlerization” of children’s films.
Snoop Dogg’s negative reaction to the LGBTQ+ family and the questions it raises when viewed by children came while discussing his experience of taking his grandson to the film, which “threw him for a loop.”
“Yeah, I took my grandson to see this new movie, this new Buzz Lightyear movie,” the rapper explained. “I was just confused because I got to the part where they said, ‘Oh, they had a baby.’ Who had a baby? ‘They are both women.’ Who are they? ‘They had a baby.’ How do they have a baby? S—. The movie ain’t over with.”
Snoop went on to describe how he was caught off guard while watching the movie by his grandson shouting out questions he had no answer for. “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,” the rapper said. “Oh s—, I didn’t come in for this s—. I just came to watch the g—— movie.”
The rapper also admitted that he did not know how to answer his grandson’s question. “So I was like, ‘Don’t ask questions right now.’ They’re both women. I don’t know. The movie ain’t over with, so watch the movie,” Snoop said. “They just said she had a baby. They are both women. How does she have a baby? S—. The movie ain’t over with.”
Throwing up his hands in the air, Snoop added, “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.”
Snoop Dogg makes a controversial podcast rant against LGBTQ+ families
Snoop went on to explain on the podcast why the story and the questions were making him so uncomfortable. “It’s a cute little movie,” he continued. “It’s a good s—, but it just happened in a movie that I saw, my grandson was triggered. Not triggered, but he had questions he was asking me that I didn’t even know the answer to.” Snoop concluded by noting that he realized in that moment he was no longer as in touch with current trends among children and young people as he used to be.
PinkNews reports that Snoop Dogg has been booked to perform at this year’s Australian Football League Grand Final in October. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan pushed back against criticism of the rapper’s performance, which could become a ratings hit in the conservative country, but has since stoked a strong negative backlash against his inclusion.
Snoop is not the first person to question or criticize the recent appearance of a same-sex couple in a Pixar movie. Last year’s Lightyear was similarly criticized by conservatives when it was released, including criticism over a kiss that two women share in the film. This so-called “gay kiss” was even removed from the film by Disney before early screenings after conservative backlash over what they called “sensitive topics” for children.
However, under pressure from Pixar staff and LGBTQ+ rights activists, Disney later relented and brought back the scene after protests. This includes Chris Evans, the actor who voices Buzz Lightyear in the movie. “The real truth is those people are idiots,” the actor told Reuters Television at the time. “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.”
Pixar movie released under heavy expectations and criticism
Lightyear was released in June last year and is an attempt to build on the Toy Story franchise by going beyond the experiences of the fictional Toy Story Buzz Lightyear and featuring his “real” space-faring alter-ego instead. In the world of Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear is a toy action figure based on a character in a popular video game and cartoon show.
In the real world, however, the Pixar movie tried to feature the backstory of the “real” Buzz Lightyear before he inspired a popular line of action figures and video games. Despite being part of one of Pixar’s most famous film series, Lightyear did not do nearly as well as expected, underperforming at the box office and receiving a mixed to negative critical response, according to a report from Forbes. Lightyear has only managed to gross a little over $226 million worldwide, barely scraping by in its first month of release.
