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Backlash Grows Over Campaign to Make Elsa From 'Frozen' a Lesbian

Not everyone is willing to let this go.
Image: Elsa the Snow Queen
This image released by Disney shows Elsa the Snow Queen, voiced by Idina Menzel, in a scene from the animated feature "Frozen." (AP Photo/Disney)AP

Not everyone is willing to let this go.

Last month, "Frozen" fans on social media called for Disney to give Elsa, the hero of the hit movie, a girlfriend in a forthcoming sequel.

The hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend soon gained traction — but it is now being challenged by online petitions demanding that Disney depict Elsa as straight.

"We’re suggesting a much better idea ... An idea that promotes solid family values to our children and represents the natural family," according to a petition this week on CitizenGo.org, which is asking Disney to ensure Elsa falls in love with a prince.

The petition had more than 115,220 signatures as of Friday morning and triggered the hashtag #CharmingPrinceForElsa.

The backlash comes in the wake of rulings that seek to expand rights afforded to the LGBT community, including marriage equality across the U.S., while in some communities and states, such as North Carolina, laws have been passed that are widely seen as discriminatory.

Franklin Graham, the son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham and CEO of his father's evangelical association, weighed in on the Elsa debate Monday, calling it an example of the country moving away from "Godly traditions."

"Disney’s 'Frozen,' the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, has some supporters calling for the heroine Elsa to have a lesbian girlfriend in the movie’s sequel. In the social media campaign for this, one proponent tweeted, 'Little kids need to learn that there’s nothing wrong with being gay.' What a lie!" Graham wrote on Facebook. "This reveals their agenda to get the LGBT message to young children and influence their lives."

Disney, along with companies such as Apple and Intel, were accused of going to "war" on Christian values after they pressured the Georgia governor in March to veto a bill over religious freedom. The legislation would have allowed business owners to refuse service to anyone whose lifestyle offended their religious sensibilities.

Related: Disney Among Companies Accused of Going to 'War' on Christianity

"Will Disney now ban you from wearing a cross outside your shirt at their parks? Will a Catholic priest be forced to remove his white collar when he takes a picture with Mickey Mouse?" the conservative organization Texas Values asked amid the uproar.

Disney has not commented specifically about Elsa's relationship status for the sequel, which has no official release date, but told The Washington Post it "remains committed to continuing to create characters that are accessible and relatable to all children."

Disney movies have been analyzed for more progressive and accepting messages — even Elsa's ubiquitous anthem, "Let It Go," has been suggested as a sort of "coming out" metaphor. But observers note there have been no overt LGBT characters in Disney's various properties, although two years ago The Disney Channel series, "Good Luck Charlie," featured a lesbian couple — the first for the channel.

Twitter user Alexis Isabel Moncada, who created the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend hashtag, told NBC News on Friday that she was surprised with how her suggestion went viral.

But, she said, she remains "disheartened" by "disgusting reactions" in response to the hashtag.

"We see princes and princesses, beasts and women, women and frogs ... yet no women who love other women?" she said about the relationships in the various Disney movies. "If we're going to displace a group of people because it's inappropriate — then so is seeing every other relationship."

Moncada, a 17-year-old Florida student, believes Disney and its kid-friendly fare can lead the way in showing that being gay or lesbian isn't an affront to the idea of family values.

"Even if it can't be Elsa, it would be amazing to see the creation of a character who represents those who feel alone," she said.