The boss of Disney, strongly criticized by his own employees for his indifference to a law deemed homophobic adopted this week in Florida, apologized on Friday March 11.
“You needed me to be a stronger ally in this fight for equal rights and I failed you. I am sorry”wrote Bob Chapek, the boss of the entertainment giant, in a message sent to his employees on Friday.
The sling rumbled internally, especially within employee associations LGBTQ and their allies, after the “band’s sloppy response to anti-gay law in Florida”, observe Variety. Employees of Pixar, one of Disney’s animation studios, had thus declared themselves “disappointed, hurt scared and angry” faced with the silence of their parent company.
Dubbed “Don’t Talk About Gays” by its critics, the law passed by the Republican State Senate this week prohibits teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation “in a manner inappropriate for the age or development of the students”.
“Clearly this is not just a Florida law issue, but rather a new challenge to basic human rights”wrote Bob Chapek, in an approach of “crisis management”according to Variety : “Disney usually manages to contain its internal conflicts, making this public dissent all the more stark”.
Disney is a staple in Florida, with “80,000 employees” divided between its Orlando amusement parks and its cruises, observes the professional magazine. As such, “he is a long-time financial contributor to the Republican and Democratic parties” in the state congress.
In his apology message, Bob Chapek clarified that Disney “was going to suspend all political donations in Florida”until further notice.
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