&34;Hopefully he joins the side of love,&34; screenwriter Lauren Gunderson also said. Lightyear writer responds to Snoop Dogg's criticism of film's LGBTQ&43; re

"Hopefully he joins the side of love," screenwriter Lauren Gunderson also said.

*Lightyear *writer responds to Snoop Dogg's criticism of film's LGBTQ+ representation: 'He sucks'

"Hopefully he joins the side of love," screenwriter Lauren Gunderson also said.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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August 29, 2025 6:53 p.m. ET

Buzz Lightyear in 'Lightyear'; Snoop Dogg in January 2024. Credit:

Pixar; David Livingston/Getty

- *Lightyear* writer Lauren Gunderson defended the film's LGBTQ+ representation after Snoop Dogg criticized it.

- The writer said Snoop "sucks" in a social media post but also expressed hope that he "joins the side of love."

- Snoop previously said he was "scared to go to the movies" after his grandson asked about the film's lesbian couple.

A *Lightyear* writer is defending her work to infinity and beyond in the wake of Snoop Dogg's criticism of the film.

Lauren Gunderson, who received an additional screenplay material credit on the 2022 Pixar film, reflected on her decision to include a lesbian couple in the sci-fi movie in a series of posts on Threads on Wednesday.

In response to a commenter's reply about Snoop's recent derogatory remarks, Gunderson wrote simply, "He sucks."

Lauren Gunderson in New York City in November 2019.

Craig Barritt/Getty

The writer also said she was "bummed" to hear Snoop's opinion in a separate post. "Snoop was great during the Olympics," she wrote. "Hopefully he joins the side of Love :)."

Representatives for Snoop Dogg did not immediately respond to **'s request for comment.

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The "Drop It Like It's Hot" rapper previously expressed that he was "scared to go to the movies" after his grandson pressed him with questions about *Lightyear*'s lesbian couple.

"Oh s---, I didn't come in for this s---. I just came to watch the goddamn movie," Snoop recalled during an interview with the *It's Giving *podcast. "These are kids. We have to show that at this age? They're going to ask questions. I don't have the answer."

Following the musician's viral criticism, Gunderson explained her creative decision to have Alisha Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) — the best friend of Chris Evans' titular space ranger — marry a woman, Kiko, and raise a child together during a key *Lightyear* montage, which also featured the couple sharing a kiss that was cut out of the film before being reinstated due to backlash.

Alisha Hawthorne, Kiko, and their son in Pixar's 'Lightyear'.

"I created the *Lightyear* lesbians," Gunderson wrote. "In 2018, I was a writer at Pixar — such a cool place, grateful to work there, learned a ton from kind and impressive creatives. As we wrote early versions of what became *Lightyear*, a key character needed a partner, and it was so natural to write 'she' instead of 'he.' As small as that detail is in the film, I knew the representational effect it could have. Small line, big deal. I was elated that they kept it. I'm proud of it. To infinity."

Gunderson clarified that she "had very little to do with" the film's final script, and noted that she was one of several writers who contributed to the project. (Angus MacLane, Matthew Aldrich, and Jason Headley ultimately received story credit, and MacLane and Headley received screenplay credit.)

Despite her limited involvement in the final product, Gunderson reiterated that she felt honored to be able to contribute a key piece of representation to the film. "I was proud to see a happy queer couple (even for a few seconds) on screen," she wrote. "I know they got a lot of s--- for this inclusion, but stuff like this matters because beautiful love like this exists. It's *not* fiction. What* is* fiction is Zurg and lightspeed space travel and murderous aliens and a talking robot cat."

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Gunderson also criticized claims that she injected sexual ideas into the film. "What sex? It was a happy marriage that was depicted," she responded to one commenter. "*You* are making it about sex."

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Source: "AOL Movies"

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