Comedian Andrew Santino says he went to "war" with Disney over censorship in his upcoming Hulu stand-up special, accusing the company of forcing him to tone down jokes about so-called "Disney adults."
"They definitely changed the jokes," Santino told Variety.
"I was not stoked about that. We got into a little bit of a war. They did not want those jokes in there."
Santino said the special, titled "White Noise" and premiering September 12, was flagged by Disney executives after they previewed it. The backlash centered on his bit about adult Disney superfans who frequently visit the parks without children and wear branded apparel.
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"My argument was: I joke about a lot of other stuff in the special that’s controversial. I don’t think joking about people who like Disney as grown-ups is a controversial take, but they disagreed."
He said executives felt the jokes would reflect poorly on the brand, as Disney owns Hulu, where the special will be streamed.
According to Santino, executives told him he had to minimize the jokes or the special would not air.
"They were like: ‘If you want it on here, this is how we want it. Otherwise, we won’t be able to air the special. We have to cut the jokes,’" he told Variety, saying both sides eventually agreed on a pared-down version.
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Santino described the decision as disconnected from reality and said he was disheartened to make the compromise.
"Quite frankly, it’s bulls---, because that’s not how people think and talk in the real world. Nobody cares," he said.
"People speak their mind all the time, and they love when comics are able to say the things people don’t talk about much because they’re afraid to."
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He said the experience highlights why many comedians are turning to podcasts and independent platforms instead of traditional outlets.
"That’s why we love the podcast world and why we’ve kind of gone away from traditional forms of media. We got sick of being told, ‘You’re not supposed to say that.’"
Fox News Digital reached out to Disney for comment, but did not immediately hear back.