Disney s woke crusade is costing it dearly – spiked
Life at the Walt Disney Company is not the fairytale it used to be. In recent years, the entertainment mega-corporation had enjoyed something of a renaissance with its Disney+ streaming service the new jewel in the empire s crown. But Disney shares are down 40 per cent this year, and last week s quarterly report makes for grim reading. Disney s expenses and operating losses are skyrocketing. Even the hugely popular Disney+, which continues to gain in subscribers, made an operating loss of $1.47 billion more than double its loss last year. An internal memo last week announced job cuts and a hiring freeze.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that Disney s troubles arrive in a year when the company has been distracted by politics. Indeed, it seems to have gone into overdrive to promote woke causes, both on screen and off.
Most infamously, in March, Disney waded into a bruising political battle with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, over his Parental Rights in Education Act. The law, now enacted, bans classroom instruction on issues of sexual orientation or gender identity for Florida schoolkids under the age of 10. Although the law has the overwhelming support of parents, from across the political spectrum, it sparked fury in media circles. Critics were quick to dub it the Don t Say Gay law, arguing that it marginalises LGBTQ+ people .
I remember watching the Mickey Mouse Club on our little black and white TV and thinking it was extraordinarily creepy. I remember taking our kids to Disneyland and thanking God for Ativan.