Bob Iger Doesn't Want to Push LGBTQ Agenda

Yesterday during their annual shareholder meeting, Bob Iger was asked if he thought Disney would be more successful in its current state if they were to return to being an apolitical company and ditch the LGBTQ ideology.

Towards the end of Disney’s shareholder meeting on Monday, a shareholder was allowed to “address the elephant in the room” during the Q&A with Disney CEO Bob Iger. The caller, William Russell, was very adamant and passionate about his stance on why the company’s stock is dropping and why Guests are ditching Disney.

Russell said, “Over the last few years, Disney has turned from a magical place for children into an ideological company.” The caller went on to express, in his two-minute speech, that Disney has abandoned their family-friendly approach for a more “woke” agenda. Russell mentioned the “dozens of highly sexualized pride parades” at Disney World. He even went as far as to call out how Disney works with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, known for “grooming children,” and has a song that openly states they will convert your child.

Russell finished his rant, begging Iger to “turn Disney back to the apolitical fun place it used to be.”

For those who picked up on Russell’s tone, it did seem more like an attack with his own personal (and maybe even political) views driving his passion. Respectfully, Bob Iger handled the aggressive caller like a professional.

Iger did dodge around a few things, but the CEO would not entertain some of Russell’s claims as they mostly came from an ignorant place. Don’t believe us? For example, Russell’s mention of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus singing a song about “converting your children” was true. However, Russell didn’t listen to the whole song. The chorus group was being cheeky, referring to converting children into accepting and tolerating people, not gay people. The lyrics say, “Your children will care about fairness and justice for others.” Fairness and justice for others seem like two things we can all agree on, whether you’re gay or not. After all, it’s justice and fairness that allowed Russell the freedom to address Bob Iger in the way that he did.

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus — Credit: San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus

In response, Iger said, “We pride ourselves in being accessible to all people.” He then said that Disney’s main goal with their content is to entertain, not push any agenda. “It should not be agenda driven; it should be entertainment-driven,” said the CEO. He also said that the company should be sensitive to the fact that parents have a different level of comfort with the content they show their children.

“We’re committed to delivering age-appropriate content for family audiences while also telling stories that reflect the world around us and that foster a greater understanding, greater perspective, and greater acceptance of other people,” said Iger, emphasizing acceptance.

While Iger agrees that the company’s content shouldn’t be agenda-driven, he is also not admitting that Disney has openly said their content was “woke” and that it will stop being so. He seems to echo what the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus is singing about.

For years, Disney has told stories about love, friendship, family, and magic. During their golden era up to the 2000s, Disney’s stories were predominantly about straight white characters (except in the 90s). One could argue that films of those times are embedded into our core values. Not just the message of magic and love but also what children understood the world around them should look like. White and straight. Pretty limited story content if you stick with those two key aspects for 100 years.

Today’s stories aren’t pushing an agenda; Iger never said they were; he just agreed they should never. Disney stories today are still entertaining. With hits such as Frozen (2013), Moana (2016), and Encanto (2021) coming out in the past 15 years, Disney still has some recent winners in their library. But now, the stories see different characters with different backgrounds and sexual orientations.

As Bob Iger said, it reflects the world around us because the world is doing its best to become more accepting. While acceptance and tolerance is the message that the company wants to spread, some families don’t see it that way. Much like Russell, a large group of Disney fans would prefer to return to the way things were. By pointing the finger at Disney’s content, these upset fans aren’t saying what they mean. What would be the opposite of acceptance and understanding? Whatever it is, that’s what some Disney fans want. However, acceptance and compassion are what bring growth. Without it, where would any of us be? Perhaps Disney would instead try and improve the world, just like Walt wanted to do all those years ago.

Do you agree acceptance and understanding are two important messages we should teach children? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments.