Trump Advisor Demands “Woke” Disney Surrender, Cancel Diversity

in Disney

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland park in California at the first-ever Disney Park.

Credit: Disney

America First Legal, the foundation co-founded by former Trump advisor and far-right activist Stephen Miller, is demanding that the Walt Disney Company bow to its insistence that it has become too “woke” and let it run things for a change.

Walt Disney alongside Disneyland Cinderella Castle.
Credit: Inside the Magic

Disney has come under fire from numerous conservative groups and media personalities in the last few years, most of whom seem to feel that they have a direct line to the beliefs of the late Walt Disney and that CEO Bob Iger is directly attacking them by including DEI practices and LGBTQIA+-positive messaging. According to a recent poll from American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF), the Walt Disney Company is widely thought of as the “most woke liberal company” in the country.

America First Legal, whose board is composed of former Trump administration officials like White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, and the aforementioned Stephen Miller, already filed one lawsuit against Disney this year and seems ready to take on the Mouse another time.

Logo of america first legal featuring a stylized pillar with the american flag design.
Credit: America First Legal

Related: Disney Is Going Anti-Woke, Says Report

In February, America First Legal filed a suit claiming that Disney of “intentionally discriminating against white American men, Christians, and Jews simply because of their race, sex, religion, and citizenship,” further asserting that the iconic media company was “violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in illegal race, sex, and national origin discrimination.”

https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1757881235286700147

The lawsuit uses a memo from the Walt Disney Company as a primary source, claiming that it proved that Disney is intentionally trying to crush White men and that, implicitly, any change in the company’s worldview is wrong. South African billionaire Elon Musk has chimed in regarding the memo (and an associated FAQ sheet), calling them “mandatory, institutionalized racism and sexism!” and a “racist, sexist, etc discriminatory set of laws enforced by Disney’s DEI Gestapo.”

Elon Musk in a suit in front of a blue curtain
Credit: Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia Commons

Now, America First Legal has released a public letter to the Disney Board of Directors, claiming that the “woke” company’s DEI practices are discriminatory, an abandonment of duty to shareholders, and have caused a massive financial loss to its stock price. For the record, Disney’s stock price has surged to a 30% increase since the beginning of 2024, far outperforming the S&P 500 average.

The letter is addressed to Disney CEO and board chairman Mark Parker and claims that it speaks for Disney shareholders and customers, although it does not present any evidence that it (as a non-profit organization) owns any Disney stock or has been selected as a representative by a consumer group. It says it intends to “notify [Disney] of mismanagement, including but not limited to intentional violations of federal civil rights laws, breaches of fiduciary duty, and the wasting of Company assets.”

America First Legal continues:

Specifically, the Company has implemented facially illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) programs and policies. Workplace anti-discrimination mandates are an essential and mission-critical regulatory compliance risk. You and the Board, among your other fiduciary obligations, have a duty of oversight and the responsibility for putting in place a reasonable and effective system of compliance monitoring and reporting relating to these mandates. However, the fact that Disney has adopted facially illegal DEI policies is prima facie evidence that the Company’s internal controls have failed.

Also, the evidence is that Disney’s Board and management team are sacrificing the Company’s reputation and goodwill to serve a highly idiosyncratic and controversial political agenda that is offensive to the vast majority of the Company’s core customers. This conduct, which is motivated by something other than the best interests of the Company’s shareholders, lacks a rational business purpose. Notably, the Company’s Form 10-K and proxy statements do not properly disclose the fact that management’s decision to enlist Disney’s brand and properties into the culture wars risks harming shareholder value.

Once, Disney strived for excellence. Now, it blackballs talented writers, illustrators, artists, actors, and creators solely because these individuals do not “check” the Company’s favored race, sex, religion, or national origin “boxes.” The Company’s brand and properties, customer goodwill, and share value have suffered substantially as a result. Accordingly, the Board and its management team appear to have breached duties of care, loyalty, and disclosure, wasted Company assets, and damaged Disney’s shareholders.

Throughout the letter, America First Legal cites the aforementioned memo and makes a number of assertions, such as claiming that Disney admits to illegal hiring practices without evidence. It also makes claims such as former Star Wars actor Gina Carano (who is currently also suing Disney, with the backing of Elon Musk) was fired because of her conservative beliefs.

Gina Carano as Cara Dune in 'The Mandalorian'
Credit: Lucasfilm

In actuality, Carano was a contracted employee on The Mandalorian whose contract was not renewed between seasons, regardless of her political beliefs. Although America First is a conservative organization, it appears not to believe in traditional values of non-interference in independent business, such as the selection of employees, unless it comes to DEI practices.

Related: Disney Blames “Anti-Woke” Boycotts for Latest Disaster

Ultimately, the 25-page letter (which includes another 29 pages of appendices) demands that Disney “[r]etain an independent counsel for a full investigation of and a report on the events and circumstances behind and resulting from the Company’s Inclusion Standards” “immediately cease and desist [DEI practices], and “investigate the acts described above that threaten consumer acceptance and misalignment with public and consumer tastes.”

It appears that America First Legal has independently decided what does and does not align with public tastes and has found Disney to be both “woke” and wanting. We shall have to wait and see if the House of Mouse decides that Stephen Miller is in charge of its business decisions, as he seems to think.

What do you think of Disney’s “woke” DEI practices? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!

The full text of America First Legal’s letter can be read below:

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