A woman has divided social media after claiming that Disney classic Snow White "promotes kissing without consent".
Voicing her controversial stance on UK breakfast show Good Morning Britain, she clashed with a relationship expert as she argued that the seemingly harmless children's movie undermines the concept of consent.
Nichi Hodgson, a dating historian, explained to the show's hosts Adil Ray and Susanna Reid: "Many parents don't know what their children are watching. And may not be paying attention. Disney has a moral duty.
"They can be an ethical business if they want to be. They make billions every year from their films. Children watch their films from a very young age, and they are some of the first stories they imbibe."
Check out the debate here:Hodgson added: "The original story does not end with a kiss, Disney invented that kiss. They do have responsibility for changing the original plotline."
However, fellow guest and relationship expert Emiliana Silvestri argued against Hodgson's view, saying: "I watched all the Disney films as a child, so does my child, and neither of us is confused about consent.
"I think [consent teaching] is the responsibility of the parent. It's an important conversation to be having, but it's not Disney we should be looking to that's the cause of this problem."
She added: "Disney has evolved through criticism and they have changed the characters throughout the years. This is a very historical story and I don't think they should have to change history because of this consent debate, when the story never caused any issues."
Needless to say, after watching the heated debate unfold, plenty of viewers took to Twitter to share their views.
One person argued: "As a kid watching #snowwhite I NEVER had the perspective that the kiss was nonconsensual. My perception was that he was sad and thought she was gone, kissing her goodbye. This is ridiculous. When is this going to end."
Another wrote: "Folk on Good Morning Britain complaining about how Snow White was kissed without consent in the film. World's gone mad."
However, one critic with similar views to Hodgson, argued in an article on SFGate: "Haven't we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue?
"That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn't been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK? It's hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old-fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman."
The debate arose after Entertainment Weekly reported that the Snow White ride in California's Disneyland has reportedly been revamped to include Prince Charming kissing Snow White as she sleeps.
