Amazon Studios altered diversity initiatives before Trump was even elected

In 2021, the studio introduced an "inclusion playbook" promising to cast more actors of color and fill at least 30% of its positions with women and people from underrepresented backgrounds.

By Emma Keates | February 13, 2025 | 4:26pm

Screenshot: Prime Movies/YouTube

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Amazon Studios altered diversity initiatives before Trump was even elected

It appears that Amazon Studios was ahead of the curve on stepping back from its stated commitments to women and people of color. In 2021, the company introduced a lengthy “inclusion playbook” with the goal of “more accurately reflecting audiences worldwide,” per The Hollywood Reporter. Some of those commitments included casting more Black, Latino, Indigenous, Middle Eastern and Asian actors in speaking roles, filling at least 30% of its positions with women and people from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, and casting actors whose identities match the characters they’re playing.

Now, those goals are nowhere to be found. The company quietly removed the entire playbook from its website in September, THR reports. When asked about the disappearance, an Amazon Studios spokesperson provided this lukewarm statement:

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We’ve said from the beginning that our efforts to ensure diverse and inclusive storytelling would be fluid and change over time… We continue to evolve this vital work in concert with our commitment to keep our global audience of viewers at the center of everything we do. Above all, we strive to tell the very best stories, while empowering diverse voices in our storytelling wherever possible.

In December, the company also sent out a memo notifying employees that it was “winding down outdated programs and materials, and we’re aiming to complete that by the end of 2024,” per AP.

Amazon is hardly the only company to roll back its diversity goals as Trumpism has taken hold, although—considering the September removal—it does seem to be one of the first. Earlier this week, Disney removed the “Diversity & Inclusion” performance factor from its executive compensation metrics and took down the site for its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative, which had been the subject of much hand-wringing on the right. Sources for Axios also shared that the company is planning to remove content advisories that currently run before certain films like Dumbo and Peter Pan on Disney+. Currently, these notices call attention to “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures” and suggest that “these stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.” Now, the advisory will reportedly be relegated to the “Details” tab and read simply, “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”