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Kudos to Disney!

thank you disney

Who says we’re not making a difference!

It’s so cool not only when we make our voices heard, but when we can generate a complete shift in attitude from one of the largest companies in the world.

Here’s a quick recap for those not in the know.

Last May, Disney produced an episode of “Jessie” in which they portrayed a gluten-free character as weak and nerdy and bullied him by throwing pancakes at him. It was beyond awful. You can read all about it here.

The show was released On Demand a few days before it was set to air on TV. To make a long story short, a fellow celiac got wind of it, she created a change.org Petition, she sent me the link, I wrote a blog post and from there all hell broke loose.

It was picked up by tons of media outlets and Disney had a bit of a sh*t storm on their hands.

To everyone’s surprise, Disney actually pulled the episode right before it was set to air. It was such a sweet, sweet victory.

(Not everyone was happy of course…hence my new Gluten Douche nickname.)

They eventually reshot the episode, removing all of the negative gluten-free connotations.

You would think it would end there, right?

Nope, Disney went one step further and produced a video educating people on the gluten-free lifestyle. And guess who it starred? Yep, two actors from Jessie.

Here is the video.

So a tip of the hat to you Disney. Thank you for listening. All is forgiven.

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24 thoughts on “Kudos to Disney!”

  1. It’s good to hear that arm of the company finally caught up to the rest. I’ve heard that the Disney theme parks are some of the most gluten free friendly vacation destinations anywhere. It really is the happiest place on earth! Can’t wait to take a family vacation there when my kids are older!

  2. It’s such a problem that I’m actually crying 🙂 thank you!! It’s my kids’ favorite show, and two of my three kids have celiac.. Thank you!! Good job Disney!

  3. I knew that they would do something to fix this mess. The Disney parks and cruises have excellent reputations for being very good at gluten-free and allergen-free dining. (and of course, if the money-making aspect is at stake, people listen. Sorry, just the cynic in me talking ) 🙂

    The video was very well done! Cute kiddos.

    Kudos to all who participated in setting things right.

    ah, the haters make me giggle!.

    Happy Friday all. Cheers!

    .

    1. I would like to think their participation in Make-A-Wish, and other programs like it where they have to be really conscious of things like that, has a great deal to do with it. But they are a for-profit company and where there’s money to be made…. 😉

  4. Hey Jimmy Fallon, see it’s really not that hard.

    But in better news, Hey Irish Heart, we went to Disneyland last summer and they couldn’t have been better/more cooperative about making sure we were gluten-free. Even the popcorn stands would pull out the box/call the manager to make sure everything was ok. Hey Jess, it’s probably just your subconscious trying to prevent you from forming the sentence “I’m going to let my child watch Jessie”. Hey Dude, that bakery is our local Gluten-Free bakery, Mariposa Bakery in Oakland, California. It totally rocks!!! If you ever make it Oakland, the cinnamon rolls are on me.

    1. ” If you ever make it Oakland, the cinnamon rolls are on me.”

      yeah baby!!

      I will be there eventually,as I have family and friends in that vaciniity, and so, I am going to hold you to that, Chris! 🙂

      If you come to mid- east coast FL, let me know. I’ve got your back.
      I mean that.

  5. Sounds like a very positive development after that episode earlier this year! Since I’m in Canada I can’t watch the video (“We’re sorry, this video cannot be played in your region.” — I get this a lot from Hulu, etc) so I’ll take your word for it (GD and everyone else) that they did things right. Perhaps the Jimmy Fallons of the world could benefit from watching.

    If anyone has a Cdn-friendly link to share I’d definitely like to check it out. Unfortunately my own googling hasn’t turned up anything; closest I could find was a youtube channel called PassThePlates with a few (much) older instalments of the series, which may or may not be Disney-sanctioned, and hasn’t been updated in over five years.

  6. Always great when a company not only stops doing something badly, but they go farther and help with creating solutions. Still just baffled at whoever thought the the original storyline was a good idea, but v. v. glad that they’ve moved on to this.

    And I’ve been missing Oakland a fair bit lately – seeing that bakery is adding hunger pangs to the homesickness ones! Time to get to some more holiday baking …

  7. Am I the only one that cannot find the video? Maybe it’s cause I’m in Australia, but every time I click on the link, or even copy and past the link into the browser, it just redirects to the Disney homepage, and searching for the video comes up with nothing. Any suggestions?

    Thanks

      1. It’s likely an international digital rights issue. I’ve been blocked like this several times before from other sites, esp Hulu. When I browse Hulu I get blocked w/this message:

        “Sorry, currently our video library can only be watched from within the United States.

        “Hulu is committed to making its content available worldwide. To do so, we must work through a number of legal and business issues, including obtaining international streaming rights. Know that we are working to make this happen and will continue to do so. Given the international background of the Hulu team, we have both a professional and personal interest in bringing Hulu to a global audience.”

        I don’t know exactly from WHOM they’re supposed to obtain such rights, but Disney is prob up against the same barrier.

  8. kudos to GD and disney!

    though of course, tonight i watched my first episode of duck dynasty (not by choice), and one of the bearded dudes (i think it’s the same mouthy one everyone is talking about) made a snide comment about a couple in a restaurant asking about food suitable for someone with “gluten allergy.”

    granted, the couple was rather clueless and precious – they described themselves as “pescatarians,” which is really an incredibly irritating way to say, “i’d like some fish, please” – and followed that with the “gluten allergy” bit (which may or may not have been staged). if i were a waitress i’d be rolling my eyes at them, too.

    but i do get tired of the media treating bona fide, serious medical conditions like celiac/gluten intolerance and gluten allergy (which ignoring causes real harm) with the same derision as some of these obscure levels of food choices (which ignoring causes a miffed hipster).

    i’m glad disney got the message. now if A&E would get a clue the world would that much of a better place. =)

  9. Thank you Disney! And thank you Gluten Dude for posting both your original story and this one. I’ve been a Disney fan my whole life. They always take care of my gluten free needs at all the parks, hotels, and even the cruises. I’m so happy to see the educational short on gluten free awareness.

  10. I was wondering if it was a good idea we support Disney by getting Disney plus, but no wondering anymore.
    canceling subscription now
    (JUST KIDDING)

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Who I am. And who I'm not.

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I AM someone who's been gluten-free since 2007 due to a diagnosis of severe celiac disease. I'm someone who can steer you in the right direction when it comes to going gluten-free. And I'm someone who will always give you the naked truth about going gluten free.

I AM NOT someone who embraces this gluten-free craziness. I didn’t find freedom, a better life or any of that other crap when I got diagnosed. With all due respect to Hunter S. Thompson, I found fear and loathing of an unknown world. But if I can share my wisdom, tell my stories and make the transition easier on you, I’ve done my job.

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