Top Disney Diversity Exec Behind Controversial ‘Reimagine Tomorrow’ Campaign Reportedly Leaves Company Amid Financial Woes
Spencer Baculi
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It seems there’s no letting up for the storm brewing over the Magic Kingdom, as amidst a number of box office failures and the recent exit of their CFO, the Walt Disney Company has now lost Chief Diversity Officer Latondra Newton.
Latondra Newton via The Walt Disney Company
Stepping away from the House of Mouse after six-years in her role, Newton’s departure was first announced on June 20th courtesy in an internal company memo.
Riku (David Gallagher), Sora (Hayley Joel-Osment), and Kairi (Hayden Panettiere) receive a message in Kingdom Hearts coded (2008), Square Enix
“To our extended DEI and HR team, I’m writing to share the news that Latondra Newton has decided to leave The Walt Disney Company to pursue other endeavors,” wrote Disney HR head Sonia Coleman, per a copy of the memo obtained by Variety. “Since joining the company in 2017, Latondra has led the company’s strategic diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including partnering with stakeholders across the enterprise to amplify stories of the world by people around the world. She has been dedicated to ensuring every person sees themselves and their life experiences represented in a meaningful and authentic way.”
“I know you all join me in thanking Latondra for her many contributions, including the lasting impact she has had on our employees and our culture,” continued Coleman. “Working alongside all of you and so many others, she has inspired countless cast members and employees to bring about lasting change and to help create a world where we can all feel safe and we all belong.”
Key Art for Disney Junior’s upcoming Ariel (2024), Disney
However, despite Newton’s exit, Coleman would confirm that company would not be shuttering their DEI department – as evident by such recent moves as renewing the social justice-focused The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, greenlighting a new animated series based on their floundering The Little Mermaid remake, and allowing a drag performer to serve as the ‘face’ of Disneyland’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique – but temporarily reorganizing it until a new CDO could be found.
“Latondra’s direct reports will report to Julie Merges on an interim basis until a new DEI leader is identified,” she explained. “I want to thank Julie for leading this team along with her Talent Acquisition organization. Additionally, Shelby Curry and the DEI Internal Communications team will continue reporting to Carrie Brown in her role leading internal communications & engagement for the company.”
IT’S “ELEMENTAL” — In a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
RELATED OPINION: Disney’s Decision To Make ‘The Little Mermaid’ Exclusionary Is Why The Film Bombed At The Box Office
To this end, Coleman ultimately concluded, “Thank you all for your continued contributions to our DEI efforts. I know we can count on you to keep this important work moving forward during this leadership transitions.”
According to an insider who spoke to Variety, Newton’s post-Disney career will see her being added to the board of an as-of-yet-unknown company, as well as dedicating more time to her personal creative company.
(L-R): Plazir-15 Security Detail, the Duchess of Plazir-15 (Lizzo) and Captain Bombardier (Jack Black) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Having joined the company, as noted by Coleman, in 2017, Newton’s most recognizable contribution to Disney’s DEI efforts may be her development and promotion of their now infamous “Reimagine Tomorrow” campaign.
First leaked to the public attention by an anonymous company insider to independent journalist Christopher Rufo in 2021, the still-ongoing campaign seeks to educate Disney employees on such critical theory-drenched topics as “systemic racism,” “white privilege,” “white fragility,” “white saviors,” “microaggressions,” and “antiracism.”
Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is ripped apart by the stress of multiversal travel in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Marvel Entertainment
In one module, Disney declares that not only must potential racial allies – specifically white individuals – embrace “discomfort and humility”, but they must challenged colorblind ideologies and rhetoric as “All Lives Matter” or “I don’t see color”.
The module further asserts that non-black employees must “not question or debate Black colleagues’ lived experience.”
Archive Link Internal Disney ‘Reimagine Tomorrow’ Documents Provided by Christopher F. Rufo via Alleged Disney Whistleblower
Another module, ‘What Can I Do About Racism?’, asks employees to reject equality, or the goal of “equal treatment and access to opportunities,” in favor of equity, or “the equality of the outcome.”
Archive Link Internal Reimagine Tomorrow Disney Documents Provided by Christopher F. Rufo via Alleged Disney Whistleblower
As noted above, Newton’s exit comes on the heels of Disney’s releasing of near back-to-back-to-back box office flops, including The Little Mermaid, Elemental, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Strange World.
Suffice to say, things are not looking up for the country’s most unfortunately controversial entertainment company.
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