Ariana DeBose is speaking out.
12.03.2022 - 00:33 / justjared.com
Bob Chapek is speaking out again.
The Disney CEO issued an apology following weeks of scrutiny for not publicly speaking out against the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida, which already passed in the House and Senate, via Variety.
Click inside to read more…
In a company email on Friday (March 11), after he broke his silence at a shareholders meeting earlier in the week, he revealed that Disney will pause all political donations in Florida and restructure its political giving framework.
“It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights,” he wrote.
“You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”
At the same time, the HRC revealed that they will no longer accept money from Disney until they take “meaningful action.”
“We are hard at work creating a new framework for our political giving that will ensure our advocacy better reflects our values. And today, we are pausing all political donations in the state of Florida pending this review,” he wrote in the email.
He then promised to “engage with the LGBTQ+ community so that I can become a better ally,” and that further announcements would be coming.
“I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community. I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on — and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve.”
See the full email, via Variety…
To my fellow colleagues, but especially our LGBTQ+ community,
Thank you to all who have reached out to me sharing your pain, frustration and sadness over the company’s response to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay”
Ariana DeBose is speaking out.
Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorAriana DeBose made history on Sunday night by becoming the first openly queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar for her work as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” The musical was distributed by 20th Century Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company.On the Academy Awards red carpet before the ceremony, I talked with DeBose about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeBose says she has reached out to Disney CEO Bob Chapek to talk about the studio’s controversial reaction to the legislation.“Bob and I, we’re gonna do the work,” DeBose said. “I have [spoken to Chapek].
Disney is set to welcome the Wall Street crowd to Orlando for two days next week at annual event that’s still a go, even after a corporate retreat was nixed amid swirling headlines.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek is facing a crisis of confidence in his leadership that is fueling an atypical level of turmoil at the top of the world’s largest entertainment company.Though Chapek’s current employment contract, expiring next February, is expected to be renewed soon, according to sources, his tenure as CEO has been marked by upheaval since he was named to the job in February 2020. Some of the disruption has been far out of his control, such as a global pandemic.
Disney’s LGBTQ employees and their supporters have begun a full day of solidarity actions to call attention to the company’s response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.Meanwhile, Disney companies including ESPN, Disney Plus and Hulu, released Twitter statements in support of the LGBTQ community and against “legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.” The statements come a week after Marvel Studios made the same gesture on social media.Though most employees at Disney’s Burbank, Calif., headquarters have not returned to their offices, they are being asked to support the campaign by not working on Tuesday and sending messages on Slack and social media with the hashtags #DisneyDoBetter, #DisneySayTrans, #DisneySayGay and #WherelsChapek. When reached by Variety, Disney Walkout organizers expressed concerns about safety and retaliation, both internally and externally, which have deterred the group from organizing formal in-person rallies.On Twitter, Disney Walkouts affirmed their approval of the corporate messages shared today by Disney brands.
As many of its LGBTQ+ employees get set for a full-day walkout tomorrow, Disney has decided to postpone a management retreat set for next week as it continues efforts to calm the internal waters.
Angelique Jackson A group of Disney employees have planned a week of in-person and virtual walkouts in response to the company and CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.On Monday afternoon, the Twitter account called Disney Walkout posted a message explaining that, “The LGBTQIA+ workers and allies at The Walt Disney Company are standing in solidarity together over the coming weeks.”The post then linked to an open letter written in partnership with members of the LGBTQ community across the Walt Disney Company (including Disney Corporate, Disney Television Animation, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Streaming, Enterprise Finance, Enterprise Technology/Global Information Security and Bento Box). “The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) leadership regarding the Florida legislature’s recent ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,” organizers wrote.
“When we donate money to different political candidates, we have no idea how they’re going to vote going forward into the future,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek at a shareholders meeting this past week.
Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek issued a memo to the company’s LGBTQ+ and ally employees apologizing over his handling of the controversy over the media conglomerate’s response to Florida HB 1557, colloquially known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
It’s been a rough first two years for Bob Chapek in Disney’s top job.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek is facing a major test of his leadership, after the company’s botched response to an anti-gay bill in Florida sparked a staff revolt among LGBTQ employees and their supporters.Chapek apologized to the staff on Friday, saying he should have been “a stronger ally.” But for some employees, who found the company’s silence on the bill profoundly alarming, the statement came too late.“This is a CYA [cover your ass] for Chapek — this is a weak statement,” one Disney staffer told Variety. “We should have gotten this apology on March 1, not weeks after — and after this bill was passed in Florida.”For Chapek, the apology capped a full week of attempted damage control.
The CEO of Walt Disney is addressing the company’s “painful silence” on the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which is due to become law in Florida.
Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterAfter weeks of internal strife and external controversy surrounding the Walt Disney Company’s lack of public response to the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida, CEO Bob Chapek announced in a company email on Friday that Disney will pause all political donations in the state during a restructuring of its political giving framework.Chapek also apologized directly to the company’s LGBTQ employees for his widely criticized messaging on the issue.“It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights,” Chapek wrote.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek is in full damage control mode today as the blast radius from the company’s bungled response to Florida’s “discriminatory ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation threatens his newly minted reign at the House of Mouse.
As controversy continued to swirl around Disney’s stance on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the Hulk himself today tweeted praise for Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s statement in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
GLAAD, the nation’s leading LGBTQ advocacy organization, announced today a plan to grade film studios on political donations, public advocacy and global LGBTQ Content, a response to what the group calls the corporate inaction around anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida and other states.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek, amid criticism for declining to speak out against the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill, came out against the legislation on Wednesday, insisting the media conglomerate has been “opposed to the bill from the outset” and noted he would engage with Gov. Ron DeSantis on the legislation.
Shortly after Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out publicly against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill today, a very pointed response began circulating internally at the studio. A letter signed by “The LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies” took Chapek to task. It refuted, point by point, an internal memo Chapek sent to employees this week.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, said today it will not accept any funding from the Walt Disney Co. without a greater commitment to the LGBTQ+ agenda.