Credit: Inside the MagicAn activist is threatening Disney.
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Chloe Cole, an advocate against gender-affirming care, is threatening Disney, warning CEO Bob Iger that “lawsuits are coming” after revealing the company’s medical benefits only support those seeking to transition, not detransition. Cole is a 19-year-old activist who vehemently opposes gender-affirming care for minors. During Disney’s recent annual shareholder’s meeting, Cole called out Disney for including gender-affirming surgeries as part of its healthcare benefit plan but not healthcare for employees seeking to detransition.
Cole presented the proposal earlier this month on behalf of an organization called Do No Harm, which is comprised of medical professionals who oppose including gender-affirming care in healthcare. According to Cole’s proposal, individuals who wish to destransition are protected under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission categories.
However, Disney only offers medical benefits to those seeking to transition to another gender. Cole shared a video of her calling Disney and its board “hypocrites” during the meeting, stating that the company is engaging in “dangerous lies.”
Just got off the phone from the @Disney annual shareholders meeting.
I needed to call out Bob Iger and the rest of the board’s hypocrisy and the dangerous lies they feed to us through the media.
Here is what I said: pic.twitter.com/OxQOgPNvoi
— Chloe Cole ⭐️ (@ChoooCole) April 3, 2024
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According to The Christian Post, Cole herself struggled with gender dysphoria as a teen and attempted to transition at a young age. Cole has since transitioned back, becoming a voice for those with similar experiences. Before deciding to detransition, Cole had taken puberty blockers and testosterone. Cole also underwent a double mastectomy, which the activist has expressed deep regret over.
Cole filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and the Permanente Medical Group as a result, accusing the groups of performing a “mutilating, mimicry sex change experiment” on her. Now, Cole is threatening to bring legal action against The Walt Disney Company.
“Disney pays for gender transition interventions, but not detransitioning care. Therefore, the company discriminates based on gender identity, under EEOC regulations,” Said Cole during the meeting. According to The Huffington Post, Disney shareholders rejected the idea that corporations are required to cover detransition procedures. Cole likened Disney to Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989), claiming Disney is stealing the voices of “thousands of Ariels across the world.”
“The lawsuits are coming, sir. It’s only a matter of time before current or past employees, whose bodies and lives have been irreversibly harmed, will show up at your door looking for justice and restitution,” Cole told Iger.
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Bob Iger has made it very clear he wants to keep Disney as politically neutral as possible, but with the company taking such firm stances on hot-button issues, Disney will never fully be out of the political arena. Due to Disney’s stance on Florida’s incredibly controversial bill dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the company lost control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District in Florida. This special ruling essentially granted Disney the ability to own and operate its Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando independently with very little state influence.
Gov. Ron DeSantis took issue with Disney and its political stances, threatening to strip power from Disney. After a long and tumultuous legal battle, DeSantis eventually won, with the state of Florida taking over the district once owned by Disney.
The decades-old Reedy Creek was renamed to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, with DeSantis hand-picking new board members and threatening to fundamentally change the way the Walt Disney World Resort operated in Florida. DeSantis teased raising prices and taxes for guests in Disney World and the idea of building a new state prison just miles away from “The Most Magical Place on Earth.”
As a result, Disney filed lawsuits against both DeSantis and the state of Florida, with DeSantis countersuing Disney.
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