Iger says Disney should step back on some social issues, slams DeSantis for violating ‘free speech’
NEW YORK – Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said at a forum in New York that the company should not shy away from taking a stance on all political or social issues, and pointed to the environment as an example in which he has a duty to speak out.
“When it comes to taking positions on issues, I have tried over the years — and I’m not calling them politics, sometimes it is what is right and what is wrong,” Iger said, according to quotes published by The Street. “When it comes time to taking positions I have tried really hard to apply a standard that asks ‘is this relevant to the company, to our people, to our shareholders?'”
He said that the environment is an issue that could have real-world impacts on Disney’s theme park business.
“So, if we take a position on the environment, we care about the health of our planet, it’s because we believe that if the planet is not healthy it will be bad for our business,” the CEO said. “People are not going to go to theme parks if they can’t breathe the air.”
Iger said that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ battle with Disney came because of the company exercising “free speech” by opposing parental rights legislation in 2022 that eliminated gender identity and sexual orientation teachings for young children in school.
“Punishing us for exercising our right to free speech was anti-American and antibusiness,” he said.
That battle resulted in the Florida Legislature and DeSantis enacting a state-appointed oversight board for what was formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the governing body over Walt Disney World in Central Florida.
Amidst news that some companies like Disney have halted advertising with X, formerly Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk, Iger noted his “respect” for the X owner but worried about Disney’s association with X.
“By him taking the position that he took in quite a public manner, we just felt that the association with that position, and with Elon Musk, and X was not necessarily a positive one for us and we decided we would pull our advertising,” Iger said, referring to the theory that Musk may be an antisemite because of a recent X post.
Iger made the comments at the New York Times DealBook Summit last week.
According to CNBC reporter Alex Sherman, Iger also said at the forum that Disney must primarily entertain, and that their role is not just to push messaging.
“He says it got worse when he left as CEO/Chairman,” Sherman reported.
“For the first time, he’s talking about how they need to focus on delighting audiences, and the storytelling, rather than what he calls ‘the messaging’ in the movies,” said Matt Belloni, a founding partner of Puck News.
“The wokeness is an issue,” he said. “That’s what Iger is saying. He’s saying that the messaging in the movies is a problem for them.”
“He’s acknowledging all the noise out there, about how audiences – they don’t like some of the moves Disney has made with their casting choices, and with their characters and messaging in the movies,” Belloni said. “He wants them to pull back on that and focus on the storytelling.”
The comments come shortly after the company warned in a recent SEC filing that there are present “risks” to their brand and reputation over the company continuing to pursue environmental and “social goals.”
Florida, the DeSantis-appointed board and Disney are still battling in court over the governor’s actions.
DeSantis recently said he has “moved on” from the dispute and defended his actions as representing treating all companies fairly in Florida.
“So all we want to do is treat everybody the same, and let’s move forward. I’m totally fine with that, but I’m not fine with giving extraordinary privileges, you know, to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else,” DeSantis said. “This is a great place to do business, your competitors all do very well here.”
