Disney employees are turning against the company and its CEO, Bob Chapek in response to the company helping fund Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantos is still trying to get the bill passed (officially called the Parental Rights in Education act), and this bill is just awful.
In short, it’s a bill to prevent teachers up to the third grade in Floridan schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in their curriculums.
The bill has been heavily criticised and people were shocked when it was revealed that Disney had a pretty big hand in making this bill a reality.
Yes, I couldn’t actually believe it either! It’s been revealed that in the last two years, the House Of Mouse has donated almost $300,000 to supporters of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
In a nutshell, this means that Disney has been donating money to many of the politicians – including Ron DeSantos – who came up with this bill which is about to be passed into law in the state of Florida.
Disney employees are not happy with Bob Chapek’s leadership
Credit: Disney
Read more: Parents Furious With Disney For Adding Mature Content To Disney Plus
Well, in order to get a clearer picture of what people inside the company think about this news, we’ve been talking to some employees over at Disney.
“What’s going on is abhorrent and the leadership has proven itself to be completely out of touch with the modern world.” – Disney Employee
Understandably, the employees who ended up talking to us about the current situation inside Disney all wished to remain anonymous, and being the good journalists we are, we will, of course, respect their wishes.
“Bob Chapek’s recent comments about Disney’s history funding anti-LGBTQ politicians have really struck a chord with people inside the company, and not in a good way,” one employee told us.
They added: “Many employees are not happy with how the company’s being run and specifically Chapek’s leadership.”
“We feel let down that [Bob] Chapek [Disney’s CEO] refused to publicly denounce the bill,” they finished.
It must be said that Chapek did speak out against the bill last week in an internal staff email.
However, he and the rest of the Disney leadership refused to publicly condemn the bill.
Chapek refused to publicly condemn the ‘Don’t Say Gal’ bill
In the internal staff email, Chapek said that Disney’s leadership “unequivocally stand” with LGBTQ+ employees but said that corporate statements “do very little to change outcomes or minds”.
He added that “they are often weaponized by one side or the other to further divide and inflame”.
This decision is what prompted the staged walkouts from employees.
Disney employees marched to a rally at the Walt Disney Company in Orlando in protest against Chapek’s decision not to condemn the bill publicly.
It’s safe to say that the mood inside the Disney camp has really changed and this could spell the end of Chapek’s time as Disney’s CEO.
It’s just been one controversy after another ever since he took over the company from Bob Iger.
The era of Iger was pretty smooth sailing for Disney and it saw the House Of Mouse become the biggest company on the planet.
However, Chapek and his cronies (the pencil and spreadsheet pushers he’s promoted since becoming CEO) have almost single-handedly managed to demolish Mikey’s castle brick by brick.
Disney’s leadership is failing its employees and the LGBTQ community
Credit: Disney
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“It’s becoming untenable for many people working at Disney,” the Disney employee told us.
“People feel that the leadership is failing them, and they are considering leaving the company because of it. There could be a massive exodus in the weeks and months to come if things do not change, and fast.”
Speaking with another Disney employee who wished to remain anonymous, it seems as though members of the LGBTQ community at the company are seriously considering leaving because of the current leadership and the company’s ties to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
“I’ve really been struggling with this because it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to work for Disney,” began the employee who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
They continued: “However, it’s got to the point where I am actually considering leaving because of how the company’s conducted itself over this. What’s going on is abhorrent and the leadership has proven itself to be completely out of touch with the modern world.”
They went on to state that they know it’s “difficult to work for a company with a completely clean record”.
However, there’s something more sinister about Disney’s recent politics that cannot be denied given their public image of promoting equality for everyone.
“It’s completely hypocritical,” said another Disney employee who agreed to speak to us, but who also wished to remain anonymous.
“How can you claim to make movies and TV shows promoting the LGBTQ+ community and all other minorities, and then fund such a terrible bill and such awful politicians? This has to change, and it needs to change quickly, but given who’s in charge at the moment, it doesn’t look like it’ll happen any time soon,” they finished.
The mood is very dark inside the House Of Mouse
There’s a very dark mood inside the House Of Mouse at the moment.
Employees are not happy and these recent walkouts are just the beginning.
It sounds as though there are a lot of people who are currently working for the company who might be looking for employment elsewhere.
That must be such a horrible decision to have to make given how tough it is to secure a job with the biggest and most iconic company in the world.
Disney is supposed to be the place where dreams become a reality, and instead, it’s been revealed to be propped up on a bed of lies and deceit.
If Disney does not get its house in order very soon, this could spell very bad news for the company that gave so many people so much joy over the years.
It goes without saying that Disney’s past is already marked with all sorts of terrible controversies which go all the way back to its founder, Walt Disney.
However, we are now in the 21st century, and Disney has to be better than the rest.
It needs to be led by someone who truly understands that fact, and it seems as though they might have made a mistake by promoting Bob Chapek to that position.
Who knows what will happen in the future, but hopefully things will change, because if they don’t, then there will be choppy times ahead for the House Of Mouse.
We were told Peter Rice was to come in and help Chapek course correct his handling of talent and creatives.
Were they too deep in by the time he came on board? Has that changed? We’re doing some investigating and will report back with our findings.
What do you make of all of this?
Are you at all shocked by Disney’s and Bob Chapek’s actions?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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“Dark side”. Try just writing without sticking your bias in.