Disney’s recently-returned CEO Bob Iger has dropped the hammer on “woke” employees by revealing that the entertainment giant is abandoning its left-wing biased political agenda.
Iger, who recently returned to lead The Walt Disney Co. after former CEO Bob Chapek was fired, revealed the company is backing away from “woke” propaganda during an internal company town hall.
On Tuesday, writer and filmmaker Christopher Rufo shared a video of Iger expressing his intent to pull back from political programming.
“Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not,” Iger said, in reference to Disney’s leftist culture war efforts.
“It can be distracting and it can have a negative impact on the company.
“And to the extent that I can work to quiet things down, I’m going to do that.”
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EXCLUSIVE: I have obtained video from returning Disney CEO Bob Iger's first town hall with employees, in which he signals that he will work to "quiet things down" politically and move toward neutrality in the culture war.https://t.co/ZBGdHhxFVS pic.twitter.com/ZbMCZN4MlG
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) November 29, 2022
Disney’s woke programming has not only hurt the company’s reputation with customers but also fractured its relationship with a state that’s very important to its bottom line.
Iger said during the town hall that he regretted that Disney had made itself an enemy of Florida.
“I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle,” he said in another clip shared by Rufo.
“And I have no idea exactly what its ramifications are in terms of the business itself,” the executive said of the company’s squabble with Florida over the Parental Rights in Education Act, which bans the sexual indoctrination of young schoolchildren.
Iger seemingly expressed his hopes of restoring Disney in the Sunshine State’s good graces.
“What I can say is, the state of Florida has been important to us for a long time, and we have been very important to the state of Florida,” he said. “That is something I’m extremely mindful of and will articulate if I get the chance.”
Iger expressed regret that Disney engaged in the high-profile fight against Gov. DeSantis, which resulted in the state legislature stripping the company of its special administrative status. "I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle." pic.twitter.com/889toYW5ye
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) November 29, 2022
The CEO did push back on the notion that everything Disney publishes is “political.”
“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,” Iger argued.
Disney’s attack on the state over the parental rights bill proved fateful for the multibillion-dollar entertainment company.
Florida responded by stripping Disney of its self-governing status.
The Florida legislature ended the generous tax privileges Disney had received from the state in response to its political activism.
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron. DeSantis reacted to Disney’s about-face in a Thursday interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, saying the company had brought wrath upon itself.
“We didn’t drag them in, Tucker,” he said.
“They went in on their own, and not only opposed the bill, they threatened to get it repealed.”
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However. the efforts by Disney to change course haven’t gone unnoticed in Florida.
According to a report from the Financial Times, lawmakers in Florida are currently working to reverse the state government’s move to end the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The district is a special zone that hosted Disney theme parks and allowed the entertainment conglomerate to enjoy taxation and regulatory privileges.
“It’s easier to shift policy when you don’t have to defend the old policy,” State Representative Randy Fine (R-FL), who drafted the legislation to end the special privileges, told the Financial Times.
“Chapek screwed up, but Bob Iger doesn’t have to own that screw-up.”
Nevertheless, the move may not be a wholesale victory for the iconic company.
State Senator Linda Stewart (D-FL) told the Financial Times that DeSantis could be permitted to appoint two individuals to the board of the Reedy Creek Improvement District under the new arrangement, among other changes.
Lawmakers’ earlier revocation of the special zone does not take effect until next summer.
