Has Disney become a political agency?
New York Post’s Karol Markowicz discusses how Disney is pushing back against Florida’s parental rights bill and how she is quitting the park on ‘Fox Business Tonight.’
A Disney shareholder is speaking out against the company’s involvement in Florida politics by actively opposing the Republican-led “Parental Rights in Education” bill championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ray Keating, an economist and editor of DisneyBizJournal.com, said when companies dive into politics, it rarely turns out and well.
FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2015, file photo, Disney chief executive Bob Chapek speaks during a ceremony at Hong Kong Disneyland. Disney’s 2021 second-quarter revenue dropped as the pandemic continued to weigh on its parks and theme parks. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung / AP Newsroom)
“Here’s a suggestion for Disney CEO Bob Chapek: Get back to business, that is, excellence in storytelling, and stop wasting shareholder’s money on political crusades that have nothing to do with Disney’s business,” Keating told Fox News Digital.
HERITAGE ACTION CALLS OUT DISNEY: ‘IT REALLY IS A WOKE WORLD AFTER ALL’
“We all have the right to have our voices heard on issues, but not on the shareholders’ dime.”
DeSantis signed the legislation into law this week that bars instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Critics have depicted the bill as hurtful to LGBTQ inclusiveness and dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 30: General view of Rededication Moment and debut of “Disney Enchantment” during “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” Walt Disney World Resort 50th Anniversary at Magic Kingdom on September 30, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Under pressure from LGBTQ activists and progressive employees – some of whom who have walked out of the job in protest – Disney’s Chapek’s eventually criticized the Florida legislation, paused all political giving in Florida and apologized to employees.
“You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down,” Chapek said in a statement on March. 11. “I am sorry.”
Disney this week said it will work to repeal the legislation in Florida because it’s dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” the Disney statement said. “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that.”
MELBOURNE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES – 2021/03/22: Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at the Eau Gallie High School aviation hangar. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Keating, who has written about how Disney’s activism is bad for business, said Disney’s decisions on the Florida bill has meant the company is catching heat from both sides of the political spectrum. Ever since Chapek spoke up, critics on the right have condemned Disney as being too “woke” and even talked of boycotting the resort.
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“Disney’s management succumbed to political pressure from activists on the Left, and now it’s getting hit from the Left and the Right,” Keating told Fox News Digital. “If I weren’t a shareholder, I’d find it amusing.”
Nothing in the Florida legislation itself mentions the word gay. It states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
