Bob Chapek Did Not “Get” Disney.
When the Walt Disney Company ousted former CEO Bob Chapek, few tears were shed by fans and Cast Members. His tenure had been mired in controversy, unpopular decisions, and widespread concern that he was doing irreparable damage to a brand beloved by generations.
This stood in stark contrast to the outpouring of optimism at the return of Bob Iger. The once-former and now-current CEO was not universally beloved when he departed, but his homecoming has been joyous and rekindled long-lost hopefulness. Then again, Disney enthusiasts likely would’ve welcomed Scrooge McDuck replacing Chapek with cautious optimism as a potential upgrade. Everything is relative, and fans didn’t realize how good things were under Iger until he was gone.
Despite being Iger’s chosen successor and carrying out many of the initiatives of his successor, Chapek was largely reviled. Price increases had become a fact of life for Disney fans over the course of the last decade and always resulted in complaints, but never the degree of disgust felt for Chapek. Nothing he did with the company’s financials alone would have earned him the widespread derision of the fan community and his own employees. So what happened? Where did Chapek go wrong and lose the confidence of the community and Cast Members?
Chapek’s downfall was partly a matter of degree and attention to detail—or lack thereof. Another major issue was charisma—or lack thereof. The reality that one of the world’s most renowned and creative storytelling companies had a leader who was utterly incapable of speaking from the heart about Disney.
To put it in the cheesiest—but true—way possible: Chapek didn’t believe in the Magic of Disney, and that made it impossible for him to make others believe. To the contrary, his words actively eroded the Magic of Disney for many who once believed. In a nutshell, this is how Chapek lost–by not understanding what made the company he ran so special to so many.
This was really no secret from the outset. The way Chapek spoke on corporate earnings calls immediately gave away that he viewed the company in cold and objective financial terms, and made decisions accordingly. He had no sentimentality, viewing the “product” not through a creative lens, but through the terms of the balance sheet.
To be sure, Chapek invoked normal terms from the Disney lexicon about “magic” and offering an unparalleled guest experience, but his delivery always came across as incredibly scripted and as if he were going through the motions—he read the words from a script, but probably didn’t believe them or pay them much mind when making decisions.
Chapek should’ve been given a pass for speaking robotically on a corporate earnings call to some extent. Investors and analysts were the purported audience, even though Disney’s senior leadership knew the contents of the calls were widely reported in the broader Disneysphere and mainstream media.
If this wasn’t clear from the outset, it certainly should’ve been after the first (or second…or third…) gaffe-filled call with sloppy statements that were widely rebuked by fans online. His predecessor (and subsequently, successor) understood this, and managed to toe the line with messaging suitable for all audiences.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Chapek never visited Disneyland or Walt Disney World in his adult life for pleasure, or if he felt theme parks were beneath him. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he only visited professionally when business absolutely dictated it—for board meetings, land openings, and so forth.
If he did visit the parks with his family, he certainly didn’t do so as a “normal” guest, as the convoluted and headache-inducing systems he championed would’ve undoubtedly been undone when forced to use them himself. (As we’ve written before, executives should be required to use the systems they implement to actually plan and take an actual trip. Genie+ would be overhauled tomorrow, as would countless other guest-unfriendly policies and products. But I digress.)
While I’m less confident in this, it also wouldn’t surprise me if he had little interest or knowledge in the creative output of the various studios. The one time I can recall Chapek expressing sincere enthusiasm for a Disney movie, it was on an earnings call following the release of Encanto, but even that was regarding the financial success of its merchandise and number of minutes streamed on Disney Plus.
Both Michael Eisner and Bob Iger were famously involved in the creative process, suggesting changes and offering notes on animated and live action films. This is well documented for Eisner in DisneyWar, and for Iger in various public profiles and interviews over the years.
Iger even stayed on board with Disney after (originally) stepping down as CEO in order to “direct creative endeavours” as executive chairman. This could speak to Iger’s reluctance to leave, but also his view of Chapek’s competency to evaluate the company’s creative output.
For his part, Iger has had a lot to say about Chapek in the last couple of years, so not much speculation is required to deduce how Iger felt about his successor. Iger described Chapek as “killing the soul of the company” after fielding calls from creative executives frustrated with Chapek. To his confidants, Iger also lamented Chapek’s lack of empathy and emotional intelligence, which resulted in an inability to communicate with or relate to Hollywood’s creative community.
This was not simply Monday morning quarterbacking of Chapek by Iger, who might’ve harbored resentment about resigning or a desire to return to the role he clearly loved. Iger had concrete complaints, which set off a “Battle of the Bobs” and speak directly to the core point here that Chapek did not get what makes the Walt Disney Company special.
Iger consistently heard complaints from former colleagues about Chapek’s leadership style and pulling away power from creative executives, a decision with which Iger did not agree. He has already started to undo with the firing of Kareem Daniel and promise of restructuring of the Chapek-created division he led.
There was also anger over Chapek’s plan to move 2,000 Disney employees from California to Florida, which has since been delayed indefinitely. The ultimatum Chapek issued and the way it was carried out showed a level of callousness toward employees’ lives that Iger felt was incongruent with Disney’s family-friendly culture.
The strife started before all of this, when the two Bobs sparred over COVID-related layoffs in the early days of the theme park closures. Iger wanted to delay these until the CARES Act was signed into law, as those protections would only benefit Cast Members if the company delayed. Chapek wanted to commence layoffs immediately to relieve financial pressures. Iger ultimately won out with an appeal to Disney’s board, but that early conflict speaks volumes about the different approaches and priorities of the two leaders.
At a dinner with the board and key executives shortly before leaving, Iger warned the company that the culture of Disney could be transformed negatively and rapidly in a speech that was interpreted by some in attendance as an indictment of Chapek’s leadership style and approach to doing business.
Prior to that, Iger said at an annual retreat that “in a world and business that is awash with data, it is tempting to use data to answer all of our questions, including creative questions. I urge all of you not to do that.” That was also interpreted as a shot at Chapek’s decision making approach. Iger has shared versions of these behind-closed-doors statements during interviews and in Ride of a Lifetime, in particular stating that Black Panther never would’ve been made if following a data-driven approach.
In fairness (maybe?), it was not like Iger was unaware of Chapek’s divergent approach to business and people. According to the New York Times, the reason that Iger picked Chapek to be his successor was because of Chapek’s blunt, unsentimental business style. Iger believed this could help Disney continue its transformation into a streaming superpower.
This is not to say that Iger had a people-first approach and Chapek was all business…but it sure felt like it most of the time. When Chapek defended decisions that were unpopular with fans, he led with the business justification. Quite frequently, that meant drawing comparisons to airlines, hotels, or other hospitality industry players to justify surge pricing, reservations, price increases, or any host of other decisions that were derided by fans.
As we’ve covered elsewhere, even Bob Iger was “alarmed” by Chapek’s approach to price increases and other changes at the parks, and his callousness towards Cast Members. The problem with that is Disney has spent decades positioning itself not as any ole corporation, but an American institution.
Disney is held to higher and different standards than Frontier Airlines or Hampton Inn, and that is both by Disney’s own design and the company’s rich history and legacy. To my knowledge, there are no Frontier super fans. To most of the general public, that company’s founders are unknown.
By contrast, Walt Disney is an American icon and visionary, treated with reverence by fans who still debate how Walt would feel about even mostly-inconsequential changes to the parks decades after his death. There is no impassioned arguing about how Hank Lund would react to the latest airline upcharges.
Perhaps it is unfair that Disney is held to a different and higher standard than other companies. If so, there’s no one to blame for that but Disney, past and present. The company has held itself out as an exemplar for decades, touting its attention to detail, customer service, and the fabled Disney Difference.
To this day, the company runs the Disney Institute, the professional development and corporate training division for outside business leaders looking to do things the Disney way. Fans are simply holding Disney to the company’s own high standards. Standards, we might add, that have positioned Disney as a company without equal, able to charge premium prices for years.
When Chapek did defend unpopular decisions from the perspective of the guest experience, his proffered explanations were unpersuasive. For one, he had already offered the aforementioned business case—given his track record and manner of speaking, it was patently obvious that was the real reason.
Moreover, he used contrived and awkward anecdotes about hypothetical families from Denver or Seattle in an attempt to make his point. (It was often unclear what that point actually was.) In so doing, Chapek frequently repeated claims that were flatly contradicted by observations and Disney’s financial results. He contended that park reservations “protect the guest experience so that when you get into the park, you can have confidence it’s not going to be overcrowded.” He contended that Walt Disney World and Disneyland want to “guarantee a great guest experience no matter when people come.” None of this was true.
My unfavorable opinion of Bob Chapek formed over the course of years, long before he ascended to CEO. Although I’ve frequently cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the outside looking in, as it’s easy to view things in reductionist terms and simply good v. bad dichotomies.
However, Chapek has telegraphed how he feels for years–and it was pretty easy to simply take his words at face value. What really pushed this over the top for me, and originally inspired this post (even before he was fired!), was Chapek’s erratic interview with the Wall Street Journal in October.
During that, Chapek (wisely) recited from a script, giving diplomatic non-answer to a question he wasn’t asked. This was a buzzword soup about Cast Members being the “secret sauce” and would’ve been a nice message, I suppose, coming from literally anyone else.
The issue wasn’t those words, it was that he said them in the most stilted and robotic manner, with no passion for what he was saying whatsoever. Again, it was like he didn’t believe what was coming out of his own mouth. Given his track record coupled with the subsequent revelations by Iger, that’s probably the case.
The bigger red flag for me, and something that reinforced past comments, was when he began speaking from his heart. When asked about “passionate” Disney fans and their criticism for this, Chapek brushed off the interviewer, dismissively remarking that “if we move a churro cart 10 feet, it’s a big deal.”
Chapek also expressed a sense of vindication about the reimagining Tower of Terror into Mission Breakout, which was initially criticized by fans (but is now beloved). To that, he began by boasting that “the lines went from 30 minutes long to 6 hours long.” (Chapek was cut off by the interviewer before he could finish this rant, as he was going off-topic. It’s also worth noting that Chapek previously claimed long lines were ‘frankly’ a sign of failure…when it came to Universal.)
Chapek closed that interview by claiming he “can be teflon” and his own feelings aren’t important when it comes to fan criticism. For a man who seldom shows emotion, he said all of this in about as defensive and wounded way as possible. It’s usually difficult to “read” Chapek for believability, but this was very unbelievable.
Only a couple weeks later, Chapek delivered Disney’s fiscal fourth quarter results. Analysts and investors similarly took issue with Chapek’s delivery, feeling that his optimistic commentary was divorced from the actual results and forward-looking guidance. (CNBC’s Jim Cramer called Chapek “delusional” and called for his firing.) As a result of the misses on earnings, revenue, and the lowered earnings forecast, Disney stock plummeted over 13% to close under $87 the following day.
Given his actions and words, both insincere and sincere, where Chapek stands on a range of issues is fairly clear. As are his priorities, and his view of Cast Members and fans. It should thus be no question why Chapek has the unflattering reputation that he does among this overlapping groups.
What has been asked a lot is why Bob Iger and Parks & Resorts Chairman Josh D’Amaro enjoy much more favorable impressions among fans and Cast Members despite enacting similar policies and making unpopular decisions. One of the top contrarian takes is it’s because they are conventionally good looking.
This feels a bit mean-spirited to Chapek (because we’ve otherwise been so nice to him!), but also, incredibly condescending. It presupposes that most fans and Cast Members are superficial, forming opinions about key figures in their lives and hobbies based on surface-level assessments. (“OH, PRETTY PERSON. BRAIN STOP WORK!”) It assumes that only the folks with the supposedly ‘unpopular opinion’ are the only ones able to think in a deeper, nuanced manner. I would contend that the opposite is true.
Iger and D’Amaro remain comparatively popular despite their similarities with Chapek because of their key differences. Both of these leaders have a certain compassion, humility, and desire to honor the legacy of the Walt Disney Company, among other things. They are, in short, leaders. People can “read” others based on more than superficiality, and there are ways those qualities cannot be faked.
Beyond that, Iger and D’Amaro truly care. They may make business decisions that are unpopular with consumers, but that’s the nature of the beast. As unreasonable as we might be on occasion, most fans understand this. At the end of the day, Iger and D’Amaro do not take apparent delight in antagonizing fans or mistreating Cast Members. They show a passion for the parks, media, and other aspects of Disney. For his part, D’Amaro is constantly in the parks–and was even more when he was president of Walt Disney World and Disneyland. (I’ve personally seen him at least a dozen times, often without a posse and any handlers.)
After tens of thousands of Cast Members were laid off during the closure, D’Amaro was also present at Downtown Disney apologizing to Cast Members and allowing them to vent for hours on end. (The recent revelations about the dispute over layoffs adds valuable new context to this.) His ‘listening tours’ with employees are well-known; it seems like every other Cast Member has first hand experience with D’Amaro. This alone is much more of a distinction between him and Chapek than the way the two look. As it would seem, D’Amaro looks better on the inside, too–and so does Iger.
While I believe that Walt Disney quotes are overused and often in cliche ways, my favorite is this: “You can design, create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” Though often portrayed as a starry-eyed dreamer, Walt Disney was also a savvy businessman with a keen sense of self-promotion. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that Walt Disney believed this.
To be sure, Bob Iger is no Walt Disney (no one alive today is, they broke the mold with Walt). However, I believe that Bob Iger also believes this quote, and in the creative vision and legacy of the company’s founder. I do not think the same is true for Bob Chapek. By all appearances and accounts, he sees Disney as any other multinational media company. He may mouth the words, but Bob Chapek does not get what makes Disney…Disney.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Bob Chapek’s understanding of the Magic of Disney? Do you think he “got” what made the company special and differentiated Disney from other hospitality and media companies? What about the distinctions between Bob Chapek and Iger, D’Amaro, and even Eisner? Think there are meaningful differences among these men, despite similar initiatives to increase prices and so forth? Thoughts on Iger’s efforts to thwart Chapek from laying off Cast Members? What about Iger’s claim that Chapek was “killing the soul” of Disney? Thoughts on anything else discussed here? Are you optimistic about the company’s future as the Walt Disney Company enters its 100th year now that Chapek has been fired? Think things will get better in 2023? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I am a Disney fan…..have been most of my life. I do feel hopeful (finally) that our beloved Disney can get back on track for the families who love it and long to teach their children and grandchildren, of the magic that is Disney. But….I am, also, a Tom Bricker fan. Well done, Tom. Well done.
Enjoyable article. Thanks.
But one really has to ask what was the Board of Directors’ role in all of this. After all, they did renew Chapek’s contract.
You summed it all up in this Post Tom, Nice! “Beyond that, Iger and D’Amaro truly care. They may make business decisions that are unpopular with consumers, but that’s the nature of the beast.” And that’s the difference, Chapek truly did not care and/or showed little interest for the Creative side of Disney, Cast members, Disney Fans nor Guests. This is what set him apart from Igor & D’ Amaro. Iger & D’Amaro truly cared about Disney. They often would be seen walking the Parks and talking to Guests and Cast Members. How often did you see Chapek visiting & talking with Guests or Cast Member’s at either Park? Like so many, I am estatic Chapek is gone. Now we will start feeling the Magic return to Disney.
Although off-topic, I think a lot of the ‘content-related’ concerns many of you are identifying only apply to a small minority of moviegoers and families.
Disney has made some really dubious decisions with the movies it has opted to release in theaters v. Disney+ in the last couple of years. Some of this was understandable during the height of the pandemic (and also from a perspective of user acquisition and growth for Disney+), but less so by last summer.
Had Encanto been released in theaters, it likely would’ve reached Frozen status and much of this conversation would be moot. Instead, they’ve released a bunch of less-compelling movies that have disappointed.
For example, I don’t think Lightyear bombed because of any supposed controversy. (This notion is just silly–plenty of ‘controversial’ movies have gone on to be box office smash successes.) The real issue was that it looked like a Toy Story knockoff, few moviegoers understood what it was, and those who did wondered why it even needed to exist–that’s why we didn’t go see it. (Also because if I were paying that much to see a movie in theaters, I would’ve rather just seen Top Gun again–but I can recognize I’m an outlier. Some of you would be well-suited to do likewise.)
Not to nitpick, but it seems like Bob Chapek did get Disney, but he just did not care, which is even worse.
Excellent and thought-provoking piece, just the same.
I think it’s fairly obvious Disneys golden era is over. The company cannot step into streaming being profitable, families like mine can’t see movies in the theaters because they need to be a screened first for appropriate content for the kids. I have a large extended Mormon family we went to go see minions this summer in the theatre. I can relax and know I’m going to have a good time. I trust the minions. I no longer trust Disney
Great article Tom. What a lot of people miss is that everything is tied together. While D+ might have been the catalyst for this instance it’s easy to see where Disney sacks him after Don’t Say Gay or any other amount of things. “Oh he’s only fired due to financials” misses the larger picture of all the little things that add up to D+ missing the mark.
@Tom:
If Disney+ were making money:
This article never would’ve been written. Correct?
Chapek was fired not primarily because of the park going experience. It was because Disney share price cratered.
I started writing this article after the Wall Street Journal interview. So it was before the share price really cratered–although it’s been down all year in ‘sympathy’ with Netflix.
I do think it’s fair to say that Chapek most likely would not have been fired if Disney+ were making money. But that and this article are mutually exclusive.
We don’t deserve Tom Bricker. Solid gold, man.
I believe the phrase is “toe the line”
Tom, this is a very interesting article (thank you!) – however please stop posting so many photos of Chapek. (It turns my stomach to see him on my screen over and over.) Stick figure drawings of a bald man with the caption “B. Chapek” will suffice. Thank you.
Oh my gosh! I was just thinking the same thing! Quit glorifying him by letting us see his pug looks. Enough already. The thing needs to be showcased in a latrine, not on this site. There is already so much positive buzz with this change. You can feel it in the air, the water even tastes better, and I personally feel healthier! Now if we can just get the stock up, I’ll be really happy! No more posts about him please, we don’t care why, we’re glad he’s gone!
I’d like to see a little more “Eisner” in the next CEO. It seems like Iger and his group of executives began diminishing Walt’s legacy and continued hold on the company and their devoted fans. Under Iger, the company started to become over sensitive to the whole diversity and inclusion trajectory. It was also auger that brought us bland towers, a failure to replace the monorails which should have been done on his first watch, and the elimination of the night time MK parade after SpectroMagic was left to rot on his watch. Not the last and certainly not the least, he gave us Chapek. Unforgivable. The whole board needs to be replaced. Call me skeptical but until the reservation system is gone, a night time parade is announced, and new monorails glide past the Polynesian, I’m not sold.
“…and the elimination of the night time MK parade after SpectroMagic was left to rot on his watch…”
This is getting into territory that very clearly has nothing to do with Iger. Disney is a massive, multinational corporation. The CEO isn’t out there personally driving parade floats into warehouses or making sure they’re protected from the elements. That is the type of thing that would certainly be delegated to individual park VPs (so blame Phil Holmes).
Beyond that, Walt Disney World has had multiple opportunities over the last several years to ‘acquire’ new nighttime parades. They have declined to spend the money.
Becoming sensitive to diversity and inclusion is one of the most ethical and smartest things any CEO can do. Caring about how your customers from ALL types of backgrounds feel when consuming your content, and how ALL your employees feel while working for you, is extremely important. As a gay man myself, I’m incredibly happy with how the company has become more open about its support of the LGBTQIA+ community. I bawled during Strange World because the main character has a crush on a boy in his school, something I was told my hold childhood was evil and abnormal. Had I been allowed to see myself as perfectly normal, as this film depicts the character of Ethan Clade, my whole life would be different. I find it incredibly disheartening that people still feel these kinds of actions by the company are somehow taking it in the wrong direction as if showing a more diverse collection of stories and perspectives is somehow harmful to anyone.
@Fred I agree wholeheartedly. I honestly believe the complaints about inclusion are over represented in the comments here and don’t reflect how the majority of the public (or even blog readers) actually feel.
My step sister is a lesbian and I have no problem with diversity and inclusion. But when they remove the words “Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls” or eliminate the song Zippity Doo Dah from the background music, it is just going a bit far and is over sensitive. In regard to blaming Iger for Spectro Magic being left to rot, of course I understand that Iger is not personally driving the float and warehousing it. But perhaps the head of that area should have lost his job for allowing a multi million dollar asset to be mishandled. Disney is a multi-national company and the parks are a small piece of the pie chart when it comes to revenue but I have seen a lot of people blame Chapek for parking fees, food portion sizes etc. So my complaint about a night time parade being trashed and falling under Igor’s watch is just as valid in my perspective.
@Fred
Wonderful reply, thank you very much for posting and sharing your story!
@Kenr
The company isn’t being overly sensitive by removing phrases like ‘Ladies and Gentlemen,’ it’s just being appropriately sensitive to a group that you aren’t thinking of. My non-binary partner has felt excluded for years by language that does not recognize that they exist, since they are neither a lady nor a gentleman. It’s such a small thing, but it shows support for a group who has long been lacking affirmation or sympathy. If you value your sister and others like her, then decisions like these need to be lauded – not criticized – for making the parks a happier place for everyone present.
Nailed it….”(As we’ve written before, executives should be required to use the systems they implement to actually plan and take an actual trip. Genie+ would be overhauled tomorrow, as would countless other guest-unfriendly policies and products. But I digress.)” I couldn’t agree more!
Once again, an excellent analysis and insight into the character of Bob Chapel.
Ya’know Tom,
On the one hand, you clearly said it here, “Fans are simply holding Disney to the company’s own high standards. Standards, we might add, that have positioned Disney as a company without equal, able to charge premium prices for years.”
On the there hand, however, you missed asking how Chapek could deviate so far from this idea of what Disney is given his career path and years at Disney
Chapek has an MBA, but he then went to work at Heinz as a brand manager, and subsequently to an advertising agency – where the job is Brand management. Chapek was hired at Disney to expand at-home media before streaming and was well positioned to understand and deliver on Disney+ years later. He would not have been far removed from the creative-side since he was very senior at Disney Studios. He would have gained additional knowledge managing the quality of Disney products when promoted to President of consumer products. And he was a busy guy after again being promoted to replace Tom Scaggs running the Parks. In a sense, he was promoted back to Disney+ because of its expected importance going forward.
Branding is what Disney is all about. The Brand is superior, because as you stated, “Fans are simply holding Disney to the company’s own high standards. Standards, we might add, that have positioned Disney as a company without equal, able to charge premium prices for years.”
Chapek knew all of this. He had a track record.
Maybe we will all learn, someday how, after more than 25 years at Disney, Bob Chapek failed to ‘get’ Disney.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
I think it’s entirely possible that Chapek was good at the analytical side of brand management and understanding consumer psychology as it manifested itself in sales numbers and strategy. In his positions at Disney prior to Parks & Resorts, he could’ve “gotten away” with a narrower skillset focused on improving the bottom line.
In my view, it was once he got to Parks & Resorts and entered a more public-facing position that required a greater breadth of skills that the wheels started to fall off. Again, all of this is from the outside looking in, so it’s necessarily limited to interviews and public statements, but it also aligns pretty squarely with Iger’s leaked statements about Chapek. If anyone knew Chapek’s strengths and weaknesses, it would be Iger.
What I would really like to learn is how/why Iger viewed him as a worthy successor knowing all of that. My suspicion is that he actually didn’t, and figured he’d have a few more years to find/train an actual successor–but then early 2020 happened…
fantastic commentary tom, as usual. this series of posts have been must-reads.
Glad you’ve enjoyed them!
As I’m guessing is probably clear, I’m really enjoying this. Both watching it all unfold from the sidelines, and writing about it. DisneyWar is one of my favorite books is all-time, and this is a rare situation where my past professional experience actually has (tangential) relevance.
So happy to see Bob Iger back and bringing back the magic once held by Disney!!
Iger is no Saint but Chapek couldn’t (and didn’t even attempt to) hide his disdain for CMs and Guests. And Christine McCarthy is not really much better in that regard. Cast and guests are basically cogs in the wheel that pays them. The obvious disconnect for Chapek is that he really seems to not “get” Disney and what it means for CMs and fans. He doesn’t understand the feels we get or the tears we cried when watching Happily Ever After (or Wishes) for the last time. Iger and D’Amaro make unpopular decisions but Chapek but they seem understand our emotions about the unpopular changes. Chapek just seemed to hate everything about Disney except the money it made him. Not sure how one bounces back from this but he’s got enough money that it probably won’t matter but I’m not shedding any tears for that guy.
I can give McCarthy a pass because she’s a CFO–not the face of the company–and is only speaking in investor-facing settings. While I do think her infamous ‘guest waistline’ comment was regrettable, it was a poor attempt at humor–not actually malicious (at least, I don’t think so). If all of my unfunny jokes here were held against me months later, I’d be in serious trouble.
When it comes to D’Amaro, we still don’t know to what degree he has made unpopular decisions and to what degree he is executing mandates from Chapek. It is now the distant past, but D’Amaro’s big push back in February 2020 was to invest in Cast Members to improve morale: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-investing-millions-cast-morale/
This is one of the big reasons I continue to be a D’Amaro backer despite everything that has happened since.
There is much more to Dusnry than the parks. If they continue pushing things that parents don’t like they will continue to decline.
Agreed. No parent wants to explain things all the time after a movie when they just want entertainment.
If your kids need an “explanation” about the existence of same-sex parents or relationships, what’s wanting is their parents, not Disney for reflecting the diversity of the real world and being inclusive and empathetic. Those are good values to hold if you sincerely believe in making the world a better, kinder place. My nephews and niece, who have gay uncles on both parents’ sides, never had any questions about the lesbian moms in Lightyear or the boy having a crush on another boy in Strange World.
I agree with Jay. My grandchildren had two uncles in a same sex marriage and two trans who were married to each other. They just accepted that they had two uncles and two trans uncles. They’re adults now and still have never questioned it. Acceptance is easy for children. It’s the adults who make more out of it than is necessary. You’d think by now things would have been better. But as we’ve seen over the past week, it has not.
Disney employs members of the LBGTQ community, as do many other businesses. None of them are grooming your children.
I always felt Chapek was a bully who liked to misuse his power as CEO to bully guests, not in the name of betterment for Disney but just because he could. At least, that’s what it felt like to me.
If I had to compare him to anyone it would be Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, in that Sheldon could not read people’s emotions or understand why what he said had upset someone, when all he was doing was telling the truth.
Someone asked me how Chapek was given the position of CEO if he wasn’t qualified for it. I couldn’t remember what transpired during that period when he took over as CEO. Surely, it was one of Disney’s worst decisions though, and there have been quite a few of those over the years.