Jenna Barbee, a teacher at Hernando County’s Winding Waters K-8 school, has gone viral for sharing her side of the story on TikTok.
Strange World, which was released in cinemas last year, includes one of Disney’s first openly gay characters. Disney released the film into cinemas without much marketing, which prompted some to question if Disney was trying to sabotage its own film.
The film became a box office bomb upon it’s release in November, but when it was released on Disney+ in December, it became an instant hit.
@becomingabetterbarbee I am the teacher. Here is the truth. #indoctrination #disneymovie #disney #strangeworld #viraltweet ♬ original sound – Jenna Lynn
Barbee said she was reported to the local school board by a mother of a student, Shannon Rodriguez. Barbee is being investigated for potentially violating the Parental Rights in Education Act. Also known as the “don’t say gay” legislation, the act bans teachers from teaching about gender and sexual identity to school students at all ages. It was introduced by controversial Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, in 2022.
Rodriguez defended her actions, saying “as a leader in this community, I’m not going to stand by and allow this minority to infiltrate our schools … God did put me here.”
Strange World was shown to students, aged between 10 and 11, who had completed an exam and Barbee describes the decision to show the film as offering the students a “brain break”.
Barbee also notes she has signed permission slips from the students’ parents to screen Disney and Dreamworks films in class. It doesn’t seem to have made a difference as Barbee’s film of choice ruffled the wrong feathers, but the youngsters seem to have enjoyed the film.
My friend showed Disney’s Strange World in a Florida classroom and one student reported it to their parents. Now she’s under investigation by the state.
Florida is not safe for teachers, DO NOT MOVE HERE. pic.twitter.com/rZJPdadz28
— Carl Zee (@c350Zee) May 11, 2023
“None of my students cared or batted an eye. They didn’t even know this was a big deal until the board member and the state made it a big deal,” Barbee says in the TikTok video.
