Now putting shareholders before culture wars
The billion-dollar company has recently been taking an active role in moving away from hot-button political issues in a way that seems to be signaling a change in priority. For example, the company confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that it would be removing a transgender storyline from the upcoming animated Pixar series "Win or Lose."
"When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline," a spokesman said.
Beyond entertainment, Disney has been cited as a factor behind ABC News’ recent settlement with President-elect Donald Trump earlier this month. Trump sued the news company, owned by Disney, for defamation after host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly claimed on-air that he was found "liable for rape" when he was in fact held liable for "sexual abuse," which has a different definition under New York law.
The sentiment was shared by CEO Bob Iger in an interview with CNBC earlier this year.
"I think the noise is sort of quieted down. I’ve been preaching this for a long time at the company before I left and since I came back then our number one goal is to entertain," Iger said. "The bottom line is that infusing messaging as a sort of a number one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining, and where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world, whether it’s, you know, fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types, great."
The billion-dollar company has recently been taking an active role in moving away from hot-button political issues in a way that seems to be signaling a change in priority. For example, the company confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that it would be removing a transgender storyline from the upcoming animated Pixar series "Win or Lose."
"When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline," a spokesman said.
Beyond entertainment, Disney has been cited as a factor behind ABC News’ recent settlement with President-elect Donald Trump earlier this month. Trump sued the news company, owned by Disney, for defamation after host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly claimed on-air that he was found "liable for rape" when he was in fact held liable for "sexual abuse," which has a different definition under New York law.
The sentiment was shared by CEO Bob Iger in an interview with CNBC earlier this year.
"I think the noise is sort of quieted down. I’ve been preaching this for a long time at the company before I left and since I came back then our number one goal is to entertain," Iger said. "The bottom line is that infusing messaging as a sort of a number one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining, and where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world, whether it’s, you know, fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types, great."
