According to a poll from Axios, The Walt Disney Company is the fifth-most polarizing brand in America behind the Trump Organization, Fox, Hobby Lobby, and FTX. Brands that are considered less polarizing, but still in the top 10 include Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Chick-fil-A. According to Axios, polarization is measured by the gap between the Republican and Democratic brand assessments. Essentially, the larger the gap between the two parties on a particular brand, the higher the polarization.

Overall, The Walt Disney Company dropped 12 positions in the brand reputation poll, from #65 in 2022 to #77 in 2023. Disney’s reputation peaked in 2017 and has been sliding since then, according to Axios.

As you can see above, Disney’s stance on the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation didn’t necessarily result in a notable acceleration of brand reputation decline, but that seems to be because of the polarization. While Republicans dropped Disney’s brand reputation from 75 to 61, Democrats propped it up a bit – increasing Disney’s reputation from 72.5 to 80.3. The end result was a continuation of the reputation slide that the Company has seen since 2017, but the increasing polarization slowed the decline.

Overall, 44% of Democrats and 21% of Republicans said that they felt more positive about the company over the past year, while 42% of Republicans and just 12% of Democrats reported negative sentiments.

When it comes to being divisive, 35% of Republicans thought that Disney has become less authentic and more divisive, while 19% of Democrats echoed those statements.

When it comes to being family-oriented, 63% of Democrats thought that the company was family-oriented compared to 46% of Republicans.

With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declaring his intention to run for President of the United States, Disney will likely continue to be a punching bag for DeSantis in his ongoing culture wars. Even former President Donald Trump is starting to sour on Disney, calling the company “woke” after initially criticizing DeSantis for taking on the mouse.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!