A few days after the mostly peaceful protest against vote fraud at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, Disney CEO Bob Iger held an all-hands meeting announcing it was time for Disney to start “taking a stand” on political issues.
At the time of this meeting, Bob Chapek was the Disney Grooming Syndicate’s CEO. Iger was serving in the ad hoc post of executive chairman. Eleven months later, primarily due to Disney’s entry into partisan politics and the divisive culture wars, Chapek would be gone, and Iger would be back in charge.
EXCLUSIVE: In January 2021, then-Disney chairman Bob Iger told employees he was committing the company to "taking a stand" on politics because of January 6, then praised himself for making Black Panther, which he said was an example of "diversity and inclusion." pic.twitter.com/Rb41540cGW
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) February 13, 2024
In this video, which Christopher Rufo first reported, Iger is not at all subtle about how he felt that January 6 was such a momentous moment that it was time for Disney to leap into the partisan fray with both feet. He also claims none of this is political. Iger’s elite bubble is so insulated that he can’t acknowledge there are two sides to these issues:
We’ve tendeed to shy away from politics, and in doing so, I think we’ve shied away from talking about issues that aren’t political at all…because we believe in doing so, maybe it looks like we’re taking a stand. Well, in that reality, we should be taking a stand…I think that we have to be less cautious, as Bob [Chapek] was just eluding to about such things, and not be concerned.
Just commenting about what happened in Washington last week [January 6], that’s not political…We know that what we saw was fundamentally wrong and that it was rooted in hatred…and intolerance. We should feel free as a company to comment about that without retribution.
Iger then moved on to race, “inclusion” and “diversity.” Apparently, referring to the months and months of Black Lives Matter riots, Iger said.
Another thing I want to say that I’ve learned these last nine to twelve months — I’m very proud of the work we’ve done in terms of diversity and inclusion on screen. When we did Coco…of course, Black Panther is one of the great examples of that, I allowed those things to make me feel a bit complacent, in a sense. It’s not that I wanted to be that way, but…it caused me to not focus as much as I should have on the culture of the company and the environment and in the voices that were telling those stories as opposed to just how they were being portrayed on the screen.
Did you notice what Iger never mentions? Telling a great story with appealing and relatable characters. This is a guy looking to turn a 100-year-old battleship around so he can fight the culture wars. And as you heard, he doesn’t believe these issues have two sides: only his side, the left-wing side.
Part of me also wonders if this wasn’t Iger setting up Chapek for a fall. Before the end of the year, thanks to his bumbling involvement in Florida’s culture wars, Chapek was fired, and Iger returned to his old job.
Overall, what I see is Iger, an extremist partisan, using George Floyd and January 6 as an excuse to turn Disney into what Iger always wanted Disney to be: a propaganda outlet for his perverted social and left-wing political causes. And, of course, as we have seen, one of the causes most dear to Iger’s heart is grooming and “queering” little kids.
In just a few short years, thanks only to Iger — who publicly attacked Chapek for not being political enough in opposing a Florida bill to prevent the sexualization of elementary school kids — Disney went from one of the most universally beloved and trusted brands — a company that produced one billion-dollar blockbuster after another — into a failing propaganda outlet no decent parent would allow their children near.
In January 2021, when Iger announced this change, Disney stock was trading at right around $180 a share. Today, after hitting as low as $80, the stock price sits at $110.
The hit factory is now the flop factory.
The trusted brand is now seen (accurately) as a threat to children’s innocence.
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