CEO Bob Chapek issues apology to LGBTQ+ Disney employees
Among other things, Chapek called Florida's proposed "Don't Say Gay" bill "yet another challenge to basic human rights"
Bowing, presumably, to pressures from both inside and outside the company, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has issued a new statement on the company’s public stance toward Florida’s proposed “Don’t Say Gay” bill today.
The bill has been condemned by folks ranging from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, to President Joe Biden himself, for its obvious intent, i.e., stopping students from being able to talk about or represent their identities, or those of family members, as part of their education, and to make it legally dangerous for teachers to encourage them to do so. (There’s also a whole aspect focused on reporting anything a kid says about their “well being” to parents, which would probably be very sweet in a world where parents weren’t often a major part of the issues affecting the well being of LGBTQ+ kids.)
Despite the outcry, Disney has been notably silent on the issue—which, given the huge impact the company has on the state’s economy, has felt significant. Chapek, who’s relatively new in his role, only made the issue worse earlier this week, when he issued a memo to employees stating that he prefers the company to advocate on progressive causes through its studio output, rather than political statements. Damage control efforts were further hampered by the Human Rights Campaign rejecting a $5 million donation from the company until it clarified its stance on the bill, and employees at the notoriously leak-proof studio (most notably from Pixar) accusing Disney of heavily censoring same-sex affection in several of its films.
All of which leads up to today, when Chapek sent an email to employees, formally apologizing to the company’s LGBTQ+ staffers for his actions, and pledging to stop all political donations in Florida while it restructures the framework of its political giving. It is, essentially, a laundry list of things that critics have been asking for, including an acknowledgement that, as one of the largest entertainment companies in America, Disney has enormous political clout it can bring to issues it ostensibly, sometimes only tacitly, seems to support.