“I thought it was safe!” Parents outraged after children exposed to explicit fetish series on Disney+

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

A few weeks ago, a friend pulled me aside with a story that made my jaw drop.

You know how these stories go—you think you’re about to hear something innocent. Maybe even funny, but as she kept talking, I realized this wasn’t a joke. It was a warning.

She had signed up for a three-month Disney+ subscription. You know the drill: movie nights with popcorn and footie pajamas, Cinderella casting spells, Sebastian singing under the sea. It was nostalgic. Magical. Everything Disney used to be.

Until it wasn’t.

One evening, as her children were searching for “Mickey and Friends,” something else popped up. Something they never expected to see on a platform marketed as the safest space on the internet for children.

“Yes, Disney was not just carrying the show. They were promoting it.”

There it was: a full-screen banner—bold, seductive, impossible to miss. A woman sprawled across a bed, bare-shouldered. The headline?

“Dying for Sex.”

She froze, staring at the screen, heart racing—trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Was it a mistake? A glitch?

It wasn’t.

Reportedly, “Dying for Sex” is an explicit, adult series exploring BDSM, sexual addiction, and genital violence, and Disney+. Yes, Disney was not just carrying the show. They were promoting it.

Loudly. Visibly. On the homepage. Right next to Peter Pan and Moana.

This isn’t an Isolated Incident

Parents across North America are discovering the same thing—and they’re furious. Social media is ablaze with screenshots, hashtags, and testimonials from moms and dads who feel betrayed by the brand they grew up trusting.

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t some back-alley corner of the platform hidden behind age gates. This was front and center—main banner, prime-time positioning.

Why?

According to internal analysts and watchdog groups, it’s not just a programming fluke—it’s a deliberate editorial push. A strategic move. An ideological shift.

One that millions of families never asked for.

Parents aren’t just upset about what was shown—they’re outraged by the response. Critics are quick to shrug it off:

“Use parental controls.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“It’s just a banner.”

This isn’t about digital filters, or settings. This is about trust. About values. About the responsibility that comes with running a platform that still—still—markets itself as “family friendly.”

Let’s not forget—this is Disney. A company that built an empire on fairy tales, fireworks, and family. A brand that made its billions by being the safe choice. The one place parents didn’t have to double-check. The one logo that didn’t require a content warning. Until now…

Grassroots groups like CitizenGO are calling for immediate action. Their petition—already gaining serious traction—demands that Disney remove “Dying for Sex” from the platform, issue a public apology, and re-evaluate its marketing and content policies.

“This isn’t censorship,” one parent wrote. “It’s common sense.”

The call is simple:

• Remove explicit fetish content from Disney+

• Audit and overhaul Disney’s family safety standards

• Stop using parental trust as a Trojan horse for adult messaging

Here’s the truth; If families wanted explicit content, they would go to HBO. They chose Disney because it was supposed to be different, and that’s the part that stings the most. For generations, families helped build Disney’s castle—brick by brick, dollar by dollar, memory by memory, but now, many are watching that castle crumble under the weight of decisions they never agreed to.

While execs like Bob Iger, Dana Walden, and Rita Ferro might see this as just another content rollout—parents see it as a breach. A violation, because when your six-year-old stumbles onto fetish porn before they learn to tie their shoes, that’s not a glitch in the system. That’s a failure of leadership.

The backlash? It’s only just begun.

Want to keep your finger on the pulse of family safety, digital culture, and the shifting values in children’s media? Stay tuned, because this isn’t the last time we’ll be talking about what’s happening behind the screens.