The Walt Disney Company is planning a town hall-style meeting on Monday with employees unhappy over the firm’s hesitancy in slamming a Florida bill that would bar schoolteachers from discussing gay and gender identity issues before fourth grade.
The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was passed by the state Senate earlier this month, is expected to be signed into law by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
Disney employees outraged that the company has not taken a more forceful stand against the bill planned to stage a walkout on Tuesday. In the days leading up to Tuesday, workers had already protested internally.
The controversy has already soured employees on Disney CEO Bob Chapek. According to CNBC, several workers at the company have contacted Chapek’s predecessor, Bob Iger, to express their dissatisifaction.
Relations between Iger, who stepped down as CEO but remained chairman of the board in early 2020, and Chapek have reportedly been fraught ever since Iger told the New York Times he would help his successor steer the company during the pandemic.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the controversial legislation into law. TNSIn an effort to quell the unrest, Disney executives will hold a forum that’s part of a larger campaign called “Reimagine Tomorrow” that the company says will reinforce its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The meeting scheduled for Monday will be focused on how the bill will impact employees’ families in the state, according to Bloomberg. The Florida bill would forbid teachers from mentioning subjects like sexual orientation or gender identity with students before fourth grade.
In recent weeks, Chapek has done an about-face, at first keeping quiet about the bill before later saying the company had been lobbying behind the scenes against the proposed legislation.
The relationship between Chapek and his predecessor, Robert Iger (above), the chairman of the board, is reportedly tense. WireImageProgressives were furious to learn that Disney had donated to state lawmakers who are pushing the legislation forward.
At a shareholders meeting last week, Chapek told investors: “When we donate money to different political candidates, we have no idea how they’re going to vote going forward into the future.”
DeSantis has defended the bill, saying it isn’t about discrimination, but instead is meant to ensure there’s no “sexual instruction” given to young students.
“When you actually look at the bill and it says ‘no sexual instruction to kids pre-K through three,’ how many parents want their kids to have transgenderism or something injected into classroom instruction?” DeSantis said, according to a CBS News report.






