Bob Iger: Disney’s Job Is “Not to Advance Any Kind of Agenda”

We already suspected that Disney was in serious trouble — Box office flops (“Wish,” “Haunted Mansion,” “The Marvels“), their stock isn’t what it once was, their streaming service is losing subscribers by the millions, and shareholders are rebelling.

CEO Bob Iger is now saying that, going forward, Disney won’t “advance any kind of agenda” in their content, but, rather, focus on entertainment. 

Our job is to entertain first and foremost […] I’ve always believed that we have a responsibility to do good in the world. But we know our job is not to advance any kind of agenda. So as long as I’m in the job, I’m going to continue to be guided by a sense of decency and respect. And we will always trust our instincts

Iger’s comments were said during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday. Iger’s promise also comes after proposals, from different shareholders, asking Disney to “stay out of progressive politics.”

This also comes after an activist investor, Nelson Peltz, whose bid for two seats on the board failed Wednesday, accused Disney of pursuing a “woke” film strategy, citing the ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Marvels’ franchises as his examples.

Iger responded to Peltz’ accusations by saying that Marvel films have grossed close to $30 billion worldwide and that they are not the problem.

Last fall, Iger blamed the creators at Disney for losing sight of what their jobs should be. In his own words, Iger noted an “entertain first, not messages” approach was needed to steer the company in the right direction. He added that stories infused with “positive messages for the world” can be great, but that it shouldn’t be forced upon an audience.

In recent months, the Disney head honcho had hinted that he wanted to “quiet things down” at Disney “after years of culture wars.” This seemed to be in reference to the company having been accused, many times, including by Peltz, of promoting a “woke agenda” in their movies.

Iger has been, ever so slyly, laying the blame of Disney’s failures on the “progressive” messaging behind their movies. I am stunned that he’s even gone this far in admitting that. You don’t even need to read between the lines, it’s quite obvious what he’s been saying. He’s practically telling the segments of the audience Disney lost that they've changed, and begging them to come back: “We’re apolitical now!”