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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disneyland Paris, fashion designer Stella McCartney (daughter of Beatles’ royalty Paul McCartney) gave the iconic character Minnie Mouse a minor makeover—and unsurprisingly, Fox News commentator Candace Owens took issue with it, according to Newsweek. For reference, McCartney gave the iconic mouse’s classic red and white polkadot dress a break, upgrading the character to a blue and black pantsuit for the upcoming spring season. However, Owens had a far different impression of the redesign, telling Fox show host Jesse Watters on Wednesday that the makeover is an attempt to make Minnie look more masculine, which will accordingly continue to “destroy fabrics of our society.”
In case you didn’t already catch the fact that the design was commissioned in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Disneyland’s Paris location in tandem with Women’s History Month, let’s be clear: the costume change is temporary and will only be worn through March, exclusively by Minnie Mouse performers.
“I wanted Minnie to wear her very first pantsuit at Disneyland Paris, so I have designed one of my iconic costumes, a blue tuxedo, using responsibly sourced fabrics,” McCartney said on Tuesday as the design was unveiled. “This new take on her signature polka dots makes Minnie Mouse a symbol of progress for a new generation.”
https://twitter.com/DisneyParis_EN/status/1485927791895920644/photo/1
To be fair, this isn’t Minnie’s first time in pants. As indicated by several commenters on social media, Mickey Mouse’s iconic feminine counterpart has donned pants on an as-need basis over her nearly 95 years in existence. Therefore, this is a relatively moot but nevertheless click-worthy issue for Owens to raise—despite Google still being free for all to use.
Don’t bother to confuse Owens with facts (or references). “This is why people don’t take these people seriously,” she told Watters. “They are taking all of these things, that nobody was offended by and feel they have to get rid of them and destroy them.” Owens further suggested the redesign is a distraction from more relevant social issues. “This is so everybody looks over here, look at Minnie Mouse, don’t look at inflation, Jesse. Look at Minnie Mouse, the world is going forward because we have got her in a pantsuit.” Owen continued. “Never mind that you can’t get anything in the grocery store and you can’t buy a piece of bacon unless you have got thirty dollars in your pocket, at least we are addressing the real problem which is Minnie Mouse.”
Never mind that most of can walk and wear pantsuits at the same time, but even assuming this is a good faith argument, this logic kinda feels like conflating Disney and Muppets characters. (Oh, wait—they’re now owned by the same company? And neither has anything to do with the price of bacon?) Given that Candace Owens is, well, Candace Owens, good faith is a lot to give.
In fact, Owens likened McCartney’s redesign to M&M’s recent makeover, which has recently seen the brand move away from stereotypical feminine characterizations of the candy mascots. (We’re literally still talking about cartoon characters, right?)
“Let me just tell you, Jesse, it goes back to what they did with the M&Ms and now they are making her more masculine; I’m glad they are seeing that this needed to be addressed.” Mars, the parent company of M&Ms, said the rebranding of their M&Ms mascot is part of their “global commitment to creating a world where everyone feels they belong, and society is inclusive.”
Candice Marie Benbow is theGrio’s daily lifestyle, education and health writer. She’s also the author of Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @candicebenbow.
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