LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek is addressing what he characterizes as a costly legal and public relations battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, in a new book.
In “Behind the Castle Walls,” Chapek alleges that his predecessor, Bob Iger, weakened his position after Chapek became Disney’s chief executive in February 2020.
Iger returned to the company as CEO nearly 33 months later, following Chapek’s removal.
[RELATED: Chapek exits, Disney announces Bob Iger to return as CEO]
Chapek took over Disney during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. He writes that he initially maintained a positive relationship with DeSantis, working with the governor to reopen Disney’s Florida theme parks.
That relationship began to deteriorate in early 2022, as Florida lawmakers moved forward with legislation barring public schools from teaching or discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
“(As) CEO, I initially chose not to take a public position that would pull us into the fray,” Chapek writes in a chapter titled “Don’t Say Gay — and the Tweet Heard ‘Round the World.”
Iger took a different approach, retweeting a statement from President Joe Biden that said, “I’m with the president on this! If passed, this bill will put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy.”
“That tweet made my job all the harder getting the Florida legislature to soften the bill,” Chapek writes. “Disney was a powerful company that had enjoyed strong working relationships with the Florida legislature. But this wasn’t about business anymore – it was about culture, power, and I believe, the future presidential aspirations of Ron DeSantis.”
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Chapek initially told Disney cast members in an email that the company would not publicly condemn the legislation.
Not long afterward, demonstrators began gathering outside the gates of Walt Disney World.
Chapek says most of those protesters were outside political groups rather than Disney employees. Still, he writes that mounting public pressure eventually led the company to reverse course.
“I called Gov. DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary and transgender kids and families,” Chapek said.
Chapek says the call prompted DeSantis to brand Disney a “woke corporation.” It also preceded legislation stripping Disney of control over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special tax district that provided government services at Walt Disney World.
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“It was a move designed to inflict punishment and seize on political opportunism,” Chapek writes.
According to Chapek, Iger stepped back and stayed silent as the legal dispute unfolded. Chapek says the fight cost Disney “tens of millions” of dollars in legal fees and caused “untold damage” to the company’s public image.
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