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Credit: Inside the MagicIf you thought Bob Iger just barely surviving a crucial Disney shareholder vote to keep his job as CEO would make him rethink his “woke” strategies, the legendary executive is ready to prove you wrong.
Less than 24 hours after shareholders decided to keep the existing Disney board of directors, Iger is already giving an interview to say loud and clear that he ignores criticisms about his direction of the Mouse as the “world’s most woke company” and that he doesn’t think fans know what they’re talking about.
For months, Bob Iger has been on the defensive when it comes to the future of the Walt Disney Company. Powerful business figures like Trian Fund Management co-founder Nelson Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo have openly challenged him for control of the company, while Governor Ron DeSantis and his Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board have accused him of presiding over “one of the greatest examples of corporate cronyism in modern American history.”
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In short, it has not been easy for Bob Iger since he returned to the Walt Disney Company to replace his own successor, former CEO Bob Chapek (who has also emerged as a public critic of his former colleague). If there has been a single predominant attack on Disney under Iger’s watch, it has been the perception that the company has somehow become one of the more progressive business entities in the modern world and is pushing a “woke” agenda of LGBTQIA+ tolerance and investment into diversity practices onto angry fans.
Naturally, Bob Iger has thoroughly denied the idea that Disney is now a “woke” company. In yesterday’s call, the Disney CEO said it was not their job “to advance any kind of agenda” and that he was “guided by a sense of decency and respect. He expanded on this, saying:
“Our job is to entertain first and foremost, and by telling great stories, we continue to have a positive impact on the world and inspire future generations, just as we’ve done for over 100 years. Disney has always been and will continue to be a source of hope, joy, and optimism for people of all ages. We’re committed to telling stories that reflect the world around us and using those stories to entertain people from all walks of life.”
Now, Bob Iger seems to be going even further and might even be a bit annoyed by how often his beloved company is attacked for its attempts at “woke” social progressiveness. In an interview with David Faber on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, the Disney CEO reiterated his talking points from the shareholder call, saying that it wasn’t the job of the Walt Disney Company to turn Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Marvel Studios into a political tool.
Iger said:
“Infusing messaging as the sort of number 1 priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining. And look, where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world — whether it’s fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types — great. But, generally speaking, we need to be an entertainment-first company, and I’ve worked really hard to do that.”
In a sense, it could seem as though the chief executive is bowing to conservative pressure to “shut up and play the hits” by not including any kind of social message in its content. On the other hand, Iger also used some atypically strong words regarding Disney fans and critics who were angry about the very idea of “woke” messaging, basically saying they don’t even know what they’re talking about.
Iger hit back against angry fans, saying, “I’ve been preaching this for a long time at the company — before I left, and since I came back — that our number one goal is to entertain. The term ‘woke’ is thrown around rather liberally — no pun intended in that regard — and I’m not sure a lot of people know what it means.”
While the chief executive officer tends to pull his punches when it comes to criticism, it seems that his recent boardroom victory has given him a little confidence to just straight up to tell fans and critics that they don’t know what they’re asking for when they rail against “wokeness.”
Iger even directly addressed Elon Musk, the South African businessman who cursed him out at DealBook Summit 2023 after Disney pulled its advertising from Twitter in response to his support of anti-Semitic messaging, and has emerged as one of the company’s biggest critics.
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Infamously, Musk (nominally an advocate of the free market) equated Disney’s decision to not pay his company advertising dollars as a form of blackmail, saying, “Don’t advertise. somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising?! Blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself. Go. F***. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.” He continued, singling out Disney CEO Bob Iger, “Hey, Bob, if you’re here in the audience. Sorry, that’s how I feel.”
While Bob Iger didn’t use the same language as Musk in his CNBC interview, he directly addressed how he deals with critics like the Tesla owner: “I ignore it. There’s no relevance to the Walt Disney Company or me.”
What do you think of Bob Iger’s comments about “woke” Disney? Tell Inside the Magic in the comments below!