According to an investor note from the recent Walt Disney World investor summit, Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly said that Disney will “quiet the noise” in the ongoing culture war that it finds itself in with conservatives (via Reuters). This recent statement echoes a statement that Iger made during a November 2022 employee town hall when he first returned as CEO when he said that “to the extent that I can work to quiet things down, I’m going to do that”.
Reports say that Iger did not elaborate on his recent statement to “quiet the noise” and there are a number of fronts that the Company is up against conservatives including a Federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis where Disney alleges DeSantis used the might of the state government to retaliate against Disney in taking over the Reedy Creek Improvement District and attempting to void development contracts that cover Walt Disney World property.
On the media front, Disney has been accused of creating “woke” films that have concepts like inclusion and acceptance in them that conservatives deem unacceptable. In his town hall meeting late last year, Iger said that there is a “misperception… on what politics is”.
Iger elaborated, “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 think they are. I don’t think that when you are telling stories and attempting to be a good citizen of the world that that’s political. Just not how I view it”.
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek faced swift backlash from Disney employees when he initially said that he wanted to keep Disney out of the “Don’t Say Gay” discourse. Eventually, Chapek reversed his decision and put out a statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community, but the damage was done.
Chapek and Disney opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, prompting conservatives in state and local government to restructure the Reedy Creek Improvement District to allow Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to rule over Disney’s local taxing district.
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