At Oscars, Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill target of joke

By TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press

At the Oscars, they said gay. The first political salvo of Sunday night’s Academy Awards came in the opening monologue, when Wanda Sykes — one of the trio of hosts for the show — took a thinly veiled jab at Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that passed a Republican-controlled state legislature earlier this month. The openly gay Sykes said: “We’re going to have a great night tonight. And for you people in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night.” She and fellow hosts Amy Schumer and Regina Hall then repeated the word “gay” multiple times. The bill, which passed earlier this month and has been staunchly defended by Gov. Ron DeSantis, forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.