Disney’s New CEO Backtracks the Company’s Woke Agenda
Disney has ousted CEO Bob Chapek and has reinstated former CEO Bob Iger to run the company once again. Iger, who was previously the CEO between 2005-2020, was appointed by the company’s board after a year of controversy and financial inconstancy for the entertainment company.
Over the last year, Disney’s stock has plummeted 40%. While this is partially due to the country’s stagnant economy, much of the stock decline is due to the controversial content that Disney has decided to put out.
Earlier this year, a leaked video showed a Disney Executive Producer explaining that the company has a “not at all secret gay agenda” to “add queerness” to children’s programming. Since then, they released Lightyear, which featured a lesbian kiss scene, and recently the film Strange World, which featured Disney’s first openly-gay teen protagonist. Both films bombed at the box office. The company is currently expected to lose over $100 million at the box office for the underperformance of Strange World.
Because of Disney’s aggressive plans to promote LGBT+ agenda, the company condemned the misleadingly named “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. Under Chapek’s leadership, the company paused all political donations in the state of Florida.
It appears that CEO Bob Iger is looking to redirect the company. Iger has expressed his desire for Disney to focus more on quality content rather than sheer quantity. While Iger has not stated that the company will start to roll back its obvert political agenda, he is starting to acknowledge the consequences of the company’s actions and the controversy that comes with it.
“I think that some of the subjects that have proven to be ‘controversial’ as it relates to Disney have been branded political, and I don’t necessarily believe they are.
Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not. It can be distracting and can have a negative impact on the company. To the extent that I can work to quiet things down, I’m going to do that.”
Bob Iger interview, footage by the Manhattan Institute
Since its creation, Disney has always painted itself as being a family-friendly organization. But when Disney continues to push woke, LGBT narratives in its projects, it alienates a significant portion of its audience. Hopefully, Disney may be starting to realize that there is a significant portion of this country that thinks the themes in their movies contradict family values.
