Why Deadpool's Controversial Joke About A Real Disney Death Made Everyone Cringe

Does Disney have the right to (accidentally) kill you if you subscribe to its streamer? The actor playing Deadpool on one particular afternoon at Disneyland in Anaheim seems to think so — or at the very least, he's making jokes about it.

@gothgirl_doesdisney I dont think the Disney execs are gonna like that joke, Deadpool 🥴 . . . #fy #fypage #foryoupage #foryou #disney #disneyland #deadpool #disneyplus #raglanroad ♬ original sound – Kaitie

TikTok user @gothgirl_doesdisney posted a now-viral clip of two actors playing Deadpool and Wolverine — obviously performing to capitalize off of the success of "Deadpool & Wolverine," the recent film which pairs up the dynamic duo — where Deadpool jokes during "Story Time with Deadpool" that "Cinderpool was late [to the big battle] because he had to read every single page in the terms and conditions when he signed up for Disney+."

"I don't get it," Wolverine says, to which Deadpool quips, "They do," referring to the audience. So ... what exactly is going on here? In case you missed it, a woman named Kanokporn Tangsuan reportedly died after having an allergic reaction caused by a meal, and when her husband Jeffrey Piccolo attempted to sue the House of Mouse for her wrongful death, he was told that because he agreed to Disney+ terms and conditions in 2019, he could not sue over his wife's passing. Pretty incredible stuff.

Not only did Disney say that Jeffrey Piccolo agreed not to sue them when he decided he wanted to watch "WandaVision" and signed up for Disney+ back in 2019, but they said that he also agreed to such a thing when he purchased Epcot tickets on the Walt Disney Parks website. According to a report in CNN, Piccolo's lawyer Brian Denney pointed out the pretty obvious ridiculousness of this stance, saying that Disney is "explicitly seeking to bar its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from ever prosecuting a wrongful death case against it in front of a jury even if the case facts have nothing to with Disney+."

Then, a follow-up article in CNN provided an update and revealed that after trying to take the case to arbitration — meaning that it wouldn't be settled in court, but by a third-party arbiter — they will agree to face off against Piccolo in court. "At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations," Disney Experiences chairman Josh D'Amaro told the outlet in a statement. "With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss. As such, we've decided to waive our right to arbitration and have the matter proceed in court."

Over on X (formerly known as Twitter), Disney and "Deadpool" fans alike don't think this joke was in particularly good taste. As user @MaidArchonRoses put it, "I hate this because this is a great joke for a Disney Deadpool to say, but this 'joke' exists because someone f**king died and this is their way to turn it into laughing material." @GalMarielena agreed, writing, "I get Deadpool's 'humor' but Disneys lawyers were trying to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit because of the terms & conditions. This is too soon."

User @JUSTINtime4aLAF wondered if Disney execs were behind the whole thing: "This is 'Disney-designed Deadpool humor' about them literally trying to get out of a lawsuit (because someone DIED at their park). It's just too... 'oh ho ho, how silly we are for letting someone die and trying to get out of any responsibility.' Kinda makes my skin crawl." @burntwaffl3s agreed, saying, "someone f**king died and now disney is having the fun quirky character say this to make us only view insane policy as a 'stupid' thing rather than some actual 1984 bullsh*t." Whether or not Disney had the character make this joke is its own question, but there's no question that it was way too soon and pretty gross to laugh about anyway.