New Disney CEO, Bob Chapek, attended his first shareholder meeting since taking taking on his new role, and was quick to shut down claims being made against Disney’s LGBTQ content.
Brooks Barnes, a New York Times Reporter, tweeted during the meeting that a shareholder complained about the recent LGBT stories and themes in some of Disney’s content and went as far to say the Disney Company stock price is down because of the content they’re producing.
Chapek responded by saying the drop “might have more to do with coronavirus and the worldwide pandemic that we’re facing.” (Que the image in my mind of Bob Chapek having a total mic drop moment.)
Disney properties such as “Star Wars” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have made headlines in recent months for including LGBTQ content. Star Wars: Rise of Skylwaker had a scene in it that featured a same-sex kiss on screen. “Onward” made headlines for having an openly gay character. Meanwhile, the President of Marvel, Kevin Feige, has been vocal about the upcoming tentpole “The Eternals” featuring the franchise’s first openly gay superhero.
Times they are a changing, and rightfully so, Disney is changing right along with them. I agree with Chapek, the drop has everything to do with the current coronavirus pandemic on our hands and nothing to do with Disney creating content that’s extremely relevant in today’s society.
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