Disney reportedly backing away from culture wars: 'Politics is bad for business'
Disney appears to be backing out of the culture and political wars after years of backlash.
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.
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This contrasted what had been seen as a focus on diversity and inclusion in its films over the past few years, which some have credited with its string of box office flops and disappointments in 2023. As it has begun seeing more success with non-political films such as "Deadpool & Wolverine" and the recent "Moana 2," experts believe this could be a shift back to entertainment.
"Disney provides a product: entertainment," Charles Elson, a former director at the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, told the Los Angeles Times. "It shouldn’t be about politics."
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.
Rather than continue with a costly trial, ABC News and Trump came to an agreement with ABC News paying $15 million to a Trump presidential foundation and museum as well as $1 million in legal fees. This move faced backlash from more liberal commentators who believed the company was caving to Trump.
"When you get into politics, you are making a statement," Elson said. "And when you get out, that also becomes a statement."
"You don’t want to get in a fight with the head of a government that regulates you," he added. "Politics is bad for business."
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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."
"But generally speaking, we need to be an entertainment-first company," he added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Disney for a comment.