Disney CEO Bob Iger Signals Retreat From Woke Agenda

What's happening: Disney CEO Bob Chapek was replaced with former executive Bob Iger amid company-wide problems. In his first town hall meeting with employees, Iger implied that while the company would still promote “inclusion,” it would have “respect for the people that [it’s] serving” and avoid controversy when possible.

Why it matters: Disney has been at the forefront of corporate wokeness. It has adopted mandatory employee diversity training programs, deliberately added progressive elements to its children’s movies, and lobbied against parental rights legislation in Florida. As a result, the entertainment company's favorability dropped from 77 percent to 33 percent within a year. Its stock has also dropped significantly.

Disney vs. Florida: Iger also stressed the importance of maintaining a positive relationship with the state of Florida. Earlier this year, former CEO Chapek publicly denounced and lobbied against Gov. Ron DeSantis's Parental Rights in Education bill. In response, DeSantis took unprecedented steps and stripped Disney of its self-governing status.

Woke children's movies: The recent failures of Disney's explicitly progressive kids’ movies may be another reason for the company to return to a more moderate position. The former CEO famously created an LGBT task force to create more LGBT content for children. Following the initiative, movies with openly LGBT characters, like Strange World and Lightyear, flopped spectacularly.