Disney dismisses alleged use of pro-Palestinian symbol in Xmas ad, says ‘not political’

Disney has dismissed claims that it used pro-Palestinian symbolism in a recent Christmas advertisement, after social media users pointed out a brief shot of a small watermelon sticker on a woman’s laptop in the clip.

The sticker appears for less than two seconds in the 90-second advertisement for the Disney+ streaming platform, which was released three weeks ago as the international media giant began its holiday campaign.

The watermelon has been used as a pro-Palestinian symbol for decades, as its colors — red, black, white and green — match the colors of the Palestinian flag. It has become an internationally recognized symbol of the Palestinian cause since the Israel-Hamas war began after the October 7, 2023 attacks.

After the commercial was aired, social media users jumped on the watermelon sticker’s brief appearance, claiming that Disney included it as subliminal pro-Palestinian messaging aimed at a family audience.

The controversial advertisement prompted an article in the UK’s The Telegraph titled “The secret pro-Palestine message in Disney’s Christmas advert,” which quoted a conservative MP as saying that Disney has “serious questions to answer” for airing the clip.

“Either they have screwed up royally on quality control or the woke agenda runs so deep they don’t even notice when they’re spreading anti-Jewish propaganda,” MP Richard Holden told the outlet.

Disney has denied that the use of the watermelon sticker was in any way a pro-Palestinian message, saying: “The sticker shown in the advert was chosen randomly and is not a political statement.”