Riley's inclusion in the LGBTQ+ community in the Inside Out movies is supported by rainbow imagery and Emotions hinting at nonbinary identities. Riley's interactions with Val in Inside Out 2 suggest a potential crush on another girl, adding depth to her character exploration. With the release of Inside Out 2 , Pixar introduced a bunch of new emotions into Riley's world, including Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and of course, Anxiety. But back when the first trailer came out, another emotion came to mind above all else; Gay Panic. It was in this promo where we see Riley Kensington Tallman meet a new character called Valentina Ortiz Lilimar for the very first time.
However, it's established in Inside Out 2 that Riley isn't queer, despite what seems like a crush on a fellow hockey player, Val. This story finds Riley excelling with the Foghorns' hockey team, but she has a shot at moving up to the middle-school team, the Firehawks. The following contains spoilers for Inside Out 2. Inside Out is one of Disney and Pixar's most interesting concepts. The animated movie by Pete Docter focused on young Riley and the emotions inside her head.
Former employees have spoken out against Disney, alleging a toxic work environment during ‘Inside Out 2,’ and claiming there were notes to make Riley seem “less gay.”. Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Remember at the end of Inside Out 2 , when Riley has a big scary secret and we get to find it out? Well, get those homosexual thoughts out of your head.
Riley is very clearly not gay. She has an “imaginary boyfriend” in the first movie and we see her go on a date with a guy in “Riley’s first date” and (spoiler for Inside Out 2) she has a crush on a male video game character. It would be nice to see more LGBTQ+ representation in movies, but making Riley strictly gay doesn’t make sense. By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. Disney originally edited out the kiss for international markets after it was banned in Saudi Arabia, but restored it after public and internal uproar.