Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger Claims Protecting Children From Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity Propaganda “Sounds Not Just Anti-Business But It Sounds Anti-Florida”
John F. Trent
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The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger made it perfectly clear where he and the company stands when it comes to exposing children to sexual orientation and gender identity propaganda during the company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, at The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day 2020.
During the question and answer section of the meeting, Alan Frisher of Ameriprise asked Iger, “What steps have already been taken or will be taken to protect shareholder value with regard to the legal battle between Disney and Ron DeSantis and the Reedy Creek Improvement District? We are kind of all concerned about that here for tax purposes. My son lives in Orlando and he’s worried about his taxes going up.”
Iger replied, “First of all, … we love the state of Florida and I think that’s reflected in not only how much we have invested in the last 50 years, but how much we have given back in the form of jobs and community service, taxes, tourism, of course, and all sorts of other responsible business practices.”
“We’ve also always respected and appreciated what the state has done for us,” Iger continued. “It’s kind of been a two-way street.”
Josh Gad and Bob Iger attend the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania World Premiere at the Regency Village Theatre on Monday, February 6, 2023 in Westwood, CA.
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Iger then said, “But a year ago the company took a position on pending Florida legislation and while the company may have not handled the position it took very well, a company a the right to freedom of speech just like individuals do.”
“And obviously upon taking the position the governor got very angry about the position Disney took and it seems like he’s decided to retaliate against including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business in effect to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right,” Iger said.
He then asserted, “And that just seems really wrong to me. Against any company or individual, but particularly against a company that means so much to the state that you live in.”
Kevin Feige, Alan Bergman and Bob Iger attend the Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania World Premiere at the Regency Village Theatre on Monday, February 6, 2023 in Westwood, CA.
(Photo:Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
“And to put that into perspective we have over 75,000 employees, which I noted in my opening, countless thousands of indirect jobs have been created, about 50 million visitors will go through our gates this year alone, about 8 million of them from outside of the US, and we are the largest taxpayer in the state,” Iger relayed.
And you may find this interesting as it relates to future taxes, but we are currently planning, now, to invest over $17 billion in Walt Disney World over the next 10 years. And those investments we estimate will create 13,000 new Disney jobs and thousands of other indirect jobs. And they’ll also attract more people to the state and generate more taxes.”
“And so our point on this is any action that thwarts those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida. And I’ll just leave it at that,” Iger concluded.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 28: (L-R) The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, Showrunner/Executive Producer Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal and Alan Bergman, Chairman of Disney Studios Content attends the Mandalorian special launch event at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 28, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
The legislation that Disney actively engaged in was a bill that has now been enacted as a law that prevents the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity to children in grades kindergarten through third grade.
The bill read in part, “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
The fact that Bob Iger believes that tax revenue is somehow greater than the spiritual well-being of the children of the state of Florida is all you need to know about how disgusting his answer truly is. There’s a reason throughout his entire answer he didn’t even mention what the law does or that Disney was actively fighting against it.
Pedro Pascal, Executive Producer Kathleen Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger arrive at the premiere of Lucasfilm’s first-ever, live-action series, “The Mandalorian”, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on November 13, 2019. “The Mandalorian” streams exclusively on Disney+.(photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
On top of this, Iger’s answer shows just how morally bankrupt and cowardly he is as a person that he thinks he can lie by omission and then try to defend his objectively immoral stance behind a “free speech” defense.
But it doesn’t come as a surprise that Iger’s character is empty. When he returned to the company as CEO he made it very clear he believed he was the arbiter of what is right and wrong.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 29: Bob Iger (L) and Steven Spielberg attend the New York premiere of West Side Story on November 29, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios)
Iger told Disney employees during a town hall discussing his future plans for the company, “And at one point, I said, ‘We do what we believe is right,’ and someone criticized me saying, ‘Well, who are you to say that’s right?’ Well, when you are in a job like mine or you are responsible for the storytelling that many of you are responsible for, you get paid to have a sense for what is right. Not everybody will agree with you.”
“That’s just not the way the world is these days, but it doesn’t mean you should stop trying to do the right thing,” he concluded.
In response to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, Iger said Disney would still promote “inclusion,” but suggested that the company must strike a “delicate balance” and “listen to [its] audience” and “have respect for the people that [it’s] serving.” This is a retreat. pic.twitter.com/bZBnQdm616
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) November 29, 2022
Bob Iger has made it abundantly clear he’s not only poison for The Walt Disney Company, he’s clearly poison for the state of Florida too.
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