In what appears to be a stunning repudiation of woke ideology, Disney has fired CEO Bob Chapek and reappointed former CEO Bob Iger after eleven months of controversies and tanking share prices.
In a statement, Susan Arnold, chairman of Disney’s board, said, “We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.”
“The board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the company through this pivotal period,” she added.
As American Wire recently reported, the media giant’s stocks plummeted more than 13 percent this month, to just below $87. It’s the lowest Disney’s shares have been since 2014.
Fourth-quarter results for the company revealed Disney’s streaming services, including Disney+ and Hulu, lost a staggering $1.5 billion.
Go woke, go broke: Disney announces layoffs, hiring freeze because it’s ‘just what leadership requires’ https://t.co/QhrvQysueS
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) November 14, 2022
“For the calendar year,” Breitbart reported at the time, “the stock is down close to 70 percent.”
Last week, the company announced employee layoffs, a targeted hiring freeze, and cuts to company travel.
In a memo to Disney’s top executives, Chapek wrote, “I am fully aware this will be a difficult process for many of you and your teams.”
‘We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions,” the memo continued. “But that is just what leadership requires.”
Turns out, the “uncomfortable” truth is, what Disney required was new leadership, in the form of a trusted familiar face.
For more than 15 years, Bob Iger, 71, headed Disney before stepping down in February and passing the keys to the Magic Kingdom to Chapek, his hand-picked successor.
But the question remains: Will Iger bring back the family-friendly Disney Americans grew up with, or will he simply yank Mickey from the fire and chuck him into a pan?
Remember, it was under Iger’s reign that Disney threatened to pull out of Georgia after the state passed an anti-abortion law. Meanwhile, it filmed a live-action version of “Mulan” in China, within spitting distance of Uyghur internment camps.
In the credits for the film, Disney thanked the Chinese agency, the Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Safety, allegedly responsible for running the genocidal camps.
Disney threatened to pull out of Georgia over abortion law, but filmed in region where Chinese Uighurs are imprisoned https://t.co/6YMYdWtAFG
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) September 9, 2020
And while Chapek caught the heat for a lesbian kiss in “Lightyear,” and a transgender man opining on tampons in a children’s series called “Baymax,” the Daily Mail notes “those productions were likely signed-off during Iger’s tenure there.”
‘Way out of their lane’: Leaked video from new Disney show should have parents of young children concerned https://t.co/vB5gkDtAYR
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) June 30, 2022
If anything, it appears Disney feels Chapek wasn’t woke enough.
“Mr. Iger, for example, wasn’t shy about taking progressive political stances on issues like abortion and voting rights, while Mr. Chapek said he hesitated to weigh in on the Florida education bill because he didn’t view it as the company’s place to wade into state politics,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Mr. Chapek later admitted that he badly miscalculated and misjudged what was important to Disney’s employees, especially those belonging to the LGBT community. In a letter to Disney staff he said that he had failed to be ‘a stronger ally’ to employees and apologized for letting them down.”
In a Sunday email to employees, Iger announced his return.
“It is with an incredible sense of gratitude and humility—and, I must admit, a bit of amazement—that I write to you this evening with the news that I am returning to the Walt Disney Company as chief executive officer,” he wrote, according to the WSJ.
Arnold, who will remain as the company’s Chairman of the Board, welcomed Iger’s return.
“Mr. Iger has the deep respect of Disney’s senior leadership team, most of whom he worked closely with until his departure as executive chairman 11 months ago, and he is greatly admired by Disney employees worldwide–all of which will allow for a seamless transition of leadership,” she said.
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
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