Disney's 'Inclusion' Is Actually Exclusion

Originally written in July 2023 but I'm sharing this now in light of the new Snow White movie release.

Hot take: Disney casting actors without dwarfism to avoid stereotypes in the Snow White remake is actually doing more harm than good. By sidelining high-profile roles that could have gone to actors with dwarfism, they’re not dismantling stereotypes — they’re erasing opportunities.

The seven dwarfs were never framed as villains. They were based on character traits — Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy, etc. As a kid, I didn’t even know what dwarfism was. I just saw them as magical, memorable characters in a story. There was no stigma in my mind — just imagination.

Disney could have rewritten the roles to celebrate and normalize dwarfism, highlighting each character's humanity, strength, and individuality. Instead, they chose erasure. Out of sight, out of mind. No dwarfism, no problem…no backlash.

But they were wrong. And for many in the dwarfism community, including me, the erasure hit close to home.