Disney

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney's on board with Elsa from "Frozen" being a positive gay character for kids, but if that's not how it plays out ... he thinks Disney should -- and will -- make it happen soon.

We got the openly gay New York Representative on Capitol Hill Wednesday, who gave us his take on speculation that "Frozen 2" will reveal Elsa is gay and has a girlfriend. He's definitely down with it, but says it's not necessary ... for this film anyway.

Maloney believes the common Disney movie themes go hand in hand with the stories of so many folks in the LGBT community, so it's time to make a major gay character happen. He adds ... the kids will dig it.

The congressman also has a funny take on Hermey, the elf from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" ... even though he doesn't get his name quite right.

We can see it now -- "Hermey" ... coming to theaters in 2020.

If Will Smith could grant wishes, there's a great chance "Aladdin" fans would wish to unsee his portrayal of the Genie ... 'cause Disney fans are PISSED.

The new trailer to the live action "Aladdin" movie dropped Sunday during the Grammys and fans finally got a chance to see what Will's gonna look like decked out as the blue Genie ... and it's safe to say practically nobody was impressed.

One fan tweeted, "It turns out that Will Smith's Aladdin Genie will haunt my nightmares." Another person said, "Will Smith genie is what appears in my room when I have sleep paralysis."

It gets worse ... "I just stepped outside and ... how are there not crashed cars? How are there not people walking around in a daze? Have they not seen the Will Smith genie yet? Dare I show them?"

Will's gotta feel like ... damned if I do, damned if I don't. Remember, back in December we got a glimpse of what Will's gonna look like as the Genie character but everyone dragged Disney for not making him blue. After the trailer dropped, Will posted a video and picture on Instagram and captioned it, "I told y'all I was gon' be Blue!! Y'all need to trust me more often!"

Some might argue he looked TOO blue. Safe to say everyone loves it when Will's bad ... but not this kinda bad.

The happiest people on Earth are now at the Happiest Place on Earth ... 'cause Tom Brady and Julian Edelman have made it to Disney World after winning the Super Bowl!!!

It's an annual tradition ... the big game's top players try like hell to fight off their hangovers and sleep depravity to make their way to Mickey's theme park to celebrate winning the Lombardi Trophy.

This time ... the Pats' MVP (Edelman) decided to bring his QB along -- and they're clearly having a freakin' blast!!!

The two have already hit up the Toy Story ride -- and had a great debate over who's Woody and who's Buzz Lightyear.

They also got a little lightsaber-training in ... and you'll never guess which guy chose the dark side's red saber!!!

Edelman and Brady will almost certainly be grand marshals in Mickey's parade through the Magic Kingdom later today as well.

Snow White isn't heading for a fairy tale ending this time around ... because a woman dressed as the famous Disney character got shoved in the back of a police cruiser after cops say she was way too belligerent begging for money.

Someone shot this video of Snow White getting busted for aggressive panhandling Thursday afternoon on Hollywood Blvd., and the photog clearly thinks the LAPD is playing the role of the witch.

It's kinda funny ... there's a Batman character standing idly by as cops handle the situation. Guess the Dark Knight has a soft spot for Disney princesses.

We've seen panhandlers get aggressive on Hollywood Blvd. before ... back in 2011, a man dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants started squaring up with 2 women!!!

Disney is making strides by introducing its first openly gay character in the upcoming "Jungle Cruise" movie, which will feature a big coming out scene ... but there's one important step that's missing.

A test screening of the film took place last week -- it'll get a wide release in 2020 -- and sources who attended tell TMZ Disney avoids using the word "gay" when Jack Whitehall's character, McGregor, comes out to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

We're told, at one point, McGregor has a heart-to-heart with The Rock's lead character, Frank, about dating history ... and McGregor makes it very clear he isn't into ladies. Keep in mind, this flick isn't set in modern times.

McGregor explains to "Frank" his family had tried arranging marriages for him with several women, but he didn't wanna marry any of them -- or any woman, for that matter. He also says Emily Blunt's character, Lily (his sister in the movie), was the only one in his fam to accept him and support him regardless of the "person" he loves.

We're told the scene was well-received by the audience, but the glaring omission of a pronoun to describe McGregor's love interest did not go unnoticed.

Unclear if the scene will make the final cut -- but ya gotta imagine it will, given how significant a move it is for Disney to include a gay character in an action blockbuster.

There was already backlash from the LGBTQ community over Whitehall's casting earlier this summer -- he's a straight guy playing a gay character -- and now, it's obvious Disney's watching its step even closer as it tiptoes into the 21st Century.

Heidi Klum, her kids and her man all hit up Disneyland, getting into the Christmas spirit by busting out their Santa hats and dance moves at the happiest place on earth.

Heidi, bf Tom Kaulitz and her son Johan looked super cute as they traded in Mickey Mouse ears for matching Santa hats Sunday in Anaheim. But, Heidi didn't totally abandon Mickey ... he was all over her jean jacket!

The German super couple -- Tom plays lead guitar for Tokio Hotel -- must've found some mistletoe, because they started making out in a crowd! PDA is kind of their thing at Disneyland.

Disney didn't just commit cultural appropriation when it locked down the rights to "Hakuna Matata," the company actually stole the saying from an incredibly popular Kenyan band ... this according to the group's frontman.

John Katana is on the ground in Africa, and the singer tells us Them Mushrooms popularized the phrase way back in 1980, when the band released its hit song, "Jambo Bwana."

In Swahili, "Hakuna Matata" means "no problem" or "no worries" ... and you probably know it from 'Lion King' characters Timon and Pumbaa.

The original song went platinum in Kenya in the 1980s, but John says he and his bandmates didn't understand copyright laws back then, allowing Disney to swoop in and trademark the phrase in '94, coinciding with its movie release.

Disney is releasing a new 'Lion King' next summer, and the increased spotlight has led to a growing petition accusing the company of "colonialism and robbery" ... while calling on Disney to abandon its trademark. The petition has over 147,000 signatures.

12/16 -- Disney has fired Stoney Westmoreland after he was arrested for trying to entice a minor into sex. In a statement, Disney says ... "Given the nature of the charges and our responsibility for the welfare of employed minors, we have released him from his recurring role and he will not be returning to work on the series which wraps production on its third season next week."

Westmoreland starred in a recurring role as Henry "Ham" Mack on the Disney Channel series "Andi Mack," playing the lead star's grandfather. Season 3 is set to premiere in 2019.

Stoney Westmoreland, a 48-year-old Disney Channel actor, has been arrested in Utah for allegedly arranging online to have sex with someone he believed was 13.

According to online records, Westmoreland -- who played the grandfather on "Andi Mack" -- was arrested Friday for allegedly enticing a minor by internet or text, and dealing in materials harmful to a minor. Both are felonies.

A local report by KSL cites court docs stating the actor began communicating with an online user he believed was just 13, on an app used for dating and setting up sexual encounters.

Westmoreland reportedly asked the person to engage in acts with him and to send him nude photos. The report cites an affidavit claiming Westmoreland sent the person pornographic images.

The Salt Lake City Police Department and FBI Child Exploitation Task Force reportedly arrested Westmoreland Friday when he used a ride-sharing service to pick up the person he believed was 13.

Westmoreland has also appeared in episodes of popular TV shows like "Scandal," "Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul" and "NCIS."

"Andi Mack" is filmed at Wasatch Junior High in Salt Lake City.

Kim Kardashian West took her kids to the furthest place from Twitter on the Earth -- less than 24 hours after Kanye unleashed on Drake -- Disneyland!!!

Kim was spotted with North and Saint Friday at the Mouse House. Kardashian was joined by Kris and Kourtney ... who were there to celebrate Reign and Mason Disick's birthdays.

The crowds, rides and characters were likely a nice break from the drama that unraveled on Twitter between Kanye and Drake.

As we reported -- Kanye claimed Drake threatened him and his fam with physical violence, and hours later Kim doubled down and warned Drizzy not to come near, saying, "Drake Never threaten my husband or our family. He paved the way for there to be a Drake."

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger know how to kick things up for Sunday Funday ... with a trip to Disneyland Chris' son will surely never forget.

Chris, Katherine and Jack looked like one huge happy family at the Happiest Place on Earth ... hitting up the theme park Sunday with some friends. Chris and Katherine showed some PDA, and Jack no doubt looked like he had the time of his life.

They jumped on Toy Story Midway Mania!, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean and Thunder Mountain. And, don't let anyone convince you otherwise -- no trip to Disneyland is complete without watching the fireworks.

Nobody -- and we mean NOBODY -- seemed more pumped about the fireworks than Chris. Dude was fist pumping like he had just scored the game-winning TD in the Super Bowl. Talk about being fired up.

Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" music video instantly blew up the internet Friday and shattered a YouTube record ... so what did she do next?

She went to Disneyland!

Ariana hit up "The Happiest Place on Earth" Friday night with her real mom Joan -- not her music vid mom Kris Jenner -- and some other friends to celebrate her massively successful vid ... which just broke the record for most-watched in a 24-hour period.

Included in Grande's Disney crew were her former "Victorious" co-star Matt Bennett ... who was also the guy brushing his teeth in "Thank U, Next."

Ariana and company were seen all over the park, enjoying rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, and of course ... Space Mountain.

As we reported ... "Thank U, Next" was loaded with cameos and featured scenes from 4 female-driven films that have special meaning to Ariana. Kris Jenner's role came during the "Mean Girls" portion, where she played Amy Poehler's "cool mom" character.

"Even Stevens" actress Margo Harshman -- who played Tawny Dean on the Disney show -- has filed for divorce from her husband.

Harshman was married to Austen Hooks -- who works in music -- for a little over a year before filing to end it in Los Angeles on Thursday ... it's currently unclear what led to the split. The two do not have any kids together.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Harshman says they separated on October 4. She doesn't want either her or her ex to pay spousal support.

As for property, Harshman says she should get control of her assets including an L.A.-area home, a labradoodle named Bullet, a trailer and a Honda Pilot. She says her ex should get his 2000 Toyota Tundra.

In the docs, Harshman says she wants the court to help them figure out who should have control of their gun safe and various firearms.

Harshman got her big break alongside Shia LaBeouf on "Even Stevens" in 2000-2003. She played goth teen Tawny ... one of LaBeouf's character's best friends. Harshman appeared in nearly 50 episodes of the Disney show.

She's also landed other gigs on shows like "Big Bang Theory," "Modern Family" and "NCIS."

Interestingly enough ... Shia recently split with his longtime partner Mia Goth, and has recently been linked to the singer FKA Twigs. Shia and FKA met on the set of the movie "Honey Boy."

Kaley Cuoco took a break from saving wild animals to party like one ahead of her 33rd birthday.

The "Big Bang Theory" star threw on some Mickey Mouse ears Sunday and hit up Disneyland to kick off her birthday week. She turns 33 on Friday and brought a bunch of friends and family members to celebrate early.

Kaley was there with her hubby, Karl Cook, who had a pretty sweet tongue-wagging pose for the camera on the way down Splash Mountain. Kaley screamed her ass off. Can't blame her ... it's a steep fall.

It's been an eventful week for Kaley already. As we reported ... she tried her best to save a distressed baby sea lion while spending the first Thanksgiving with her in-laws in Santa Barbara.

"Wizards of Waverly Place" star David Henrie used some legal magic to dodge jail time in his airport gun case -- and by magic we mean ... he took a plea deal.

The actor pled no contest Wednesday to possessing a weapon at the airport ... according to the court clerk. We're told Henrie was sentenced to 2 years probation and 20 days of community labor, but he won't spend any time behind bars.

David also has to take a gun safety course and drop some cash for fines and fees.

We broke the story ... Henrie was originally charged with 3 crimes after being busted at LAX with a loaded gun in September. As part of the deal, he got 2 charges dropped -- carrying a loaded firearm and carrying a concealed firearm.

Disney took "A Bug's Life" from the big screen and into the bedroom ... according to a new lawsuit filed by a woman claiming the Disneyland Hotel is infested by bed bugs.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ivy Lizette Ewell Eldridge says she developed a severe skin rash over her entire body after an April stay in the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, and the hotel failed to tell her about a bed bug infestation.

In the suit, she says bed bugs latched onto her body while she slept and "sucked her blood until they were gorged." She claims the rash was so bad, she needed medical treatment.

We've obtained photos of her alleged injuries and, yeah ... they're gross.

Orlando Brown is finally getting the help he needs ... thanks to friends who never gave up on him and staged an intervention to get him into a rehab facility.

We're told, Orlando's friend Danny Boy -- the owner of a Vegas restaurant that the "That's So Raven" star broke into last month -- contacted Wendy Wheaton and Tommy Red, Hollywood producers with contacts in the rehab world.

The plan was to get Orlando some help back in August, but he threw a wrench in that plan when he got arrested in early September after breaking into Danny's joint. Orlando got out but went MIA for a few weeks.

Fast forward to last Sunday ... when Orlando made his way to a San Fernando Valley hotel where cops were called after he went off the rails. He was so bad off, his friends had to wait a few days for the intervention.

After the intervention -- put together by Tommy, Wendy and their group, yoursecretangels.org -- Orlando decided to enter a treatment facility for mental health and substance abuse issues.

Orlando's no doubt had his troubles. They've been well documented here, here, here, here, here and here. There's also the infamous bounty hunters bust back in April ... when he was arrested in his undies. #GetWellOrlando