Bob Chapek To Helm Disney’s Annual Meeting Amid “Don’t Say Gay” Backlash

deadline.com:

At Disney’s last shareholder meeting the big issue was a sad girl scout who couldn’t see Raya And The Last Dragon with her troop because their local theater hadn’t accepted Disney’s stiff rental terms to show the film.At the 2022 meet, which unspools at 1 pm ET Wed., CEO Bob Chapek arrives with a bigger controversy on his hands — the maelstrom surrounding his perceived late and weak-kneed response to Florida legislation critics are calling the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.Social media has been buzzing with discontent from in and outside the company with hastags #DisneySayGay, #saygaydisney and #DisneyDoBetter, accelerating since a statement by Chapek yesterday declined to condemn the bill, which would effectively ban discussion of the LGBTQ+ community and “sexual orientation or gender identity” in the state’s public schools from kindergarten to 3rd grade.Instead, the CEO promised the company will have “a more fulsome conversation about this” at a company-wide summit planned for April, by which time the proposal may have been signed into law by Florida’s Republican Gov.

Ron DeSantis. Chapek’s comments, in a memo to staff, came after days of protestors at Walt Disney World, Disney scion Abigail Disney, and others asking the company to take a stand.Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who bid shareholders adieu at the last annual meeting, tweeted that the bill, “if passed, will put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy.” President Joe Biden called the bill “hateful.” (Iger stepped down from his role as executive chairman at the end of 2021.)“His customers are children.

This bill harms children in ways that will damage many for life. @Disney should never be a company that doesn’t stand up for the safety and support of all children.