On March 20th, Disney shareholders overwhelmingly voted against a proposal to stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index (CEI) survey—a move that reveals just how deep Disney remains entrenched in left-wing ideological activism.
The proposal, brought forward by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), called out the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index as a partisan tool of the global elite, pushing Cultural Marxist tactics to undermine America’s values from the inside out.
The NCPPR made a common-sense case:
- The HRC is overtly political, divisive, and increasingly radical
- Its influence alienates customers and damages shareholder value
- Withdrawing from the CEI would help Disney return to ideological neutrality
- And reduce exposure to political backlash and legal risk
Instead, Disney’s Board of Directors doubled down. In their proxy statement to the SEC, they claimed participation in the CEI doesn’t harm shareholders and even made the absurd claim that Disney is already “transparent” about these issues. Unsurprisingly, the proposal was resoundingly defeated—thanks to the woke institutional investors and asset managers like BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard who quietly dominate most corporate boardrooms and continue to push ESG, DEI, and HRC nonsense down our throats.
Another rejected measure—submitted by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC)—urged Disney to adopt politically neutral advertising policies. It raised valid concerns about potential discrimination against advertisers based on religious or political views and highlighted Disney’s previous involvement in the now-defunct Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)—a censorship machine we recently exposed for colluding with globalist brands like Pernod Ricard to silence conservatives online.
Again, Disney brushed off the concern with vague assurances that it’s “already doing enough.” No details. No transparency. Just a hand-wave from another corporate Board of Directors that sees no problem with picking ideological winners and losers.
If you’re wondering whether Disney is actively involved in suppressing conservative speech—look no further than the Media Matters/X saga. Media Matters gamed the system by artificially placing major brands’ ads next to extremist content on X, then used those screenshots to manufacture outrage and pressure brands—including Disney—to pull out. The result? A coordinated ad boycott that cost X a reported $75 million.
The moment lives on thanks to Elon Musk’s now-iconic response at the 2023 DealBook Summit:
“If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f*** yourself. Go f*** yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.”
And yes—he directed that final line at Disney CEO Bob Iger, who helped lead the charge.
These two proxy vote outcomes shed significant light on the current state of affairs at Disney, which has been embroiled over the last few years in a series of controversies that have led to a dramatic decline in the company’s share price.
The Board of Directors is packed with globalist swamp creatures, such as James Gorman, the Chairman of the Board and former Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley—a firm he helped transform into a leader in sustainability and DEI. That same firm is now facing multiple lawsuits over its DEI policies: some from black employees who allege the policies failed them or retaliated against them for reporting racial bias, and others from white employees claiming reverse discrimination. Nothing speaks to dysfunction more loudly than both the supposed oppressors and the oppressed suing over the same ideology.
Then there’s Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, who sits on Disney’s Board while overseeing the real-time collapse of a once-great American automaker. GM’s obsessive focus on sustainability and DEI has coincided with serious product quality issues—like catastrophic engine failures across entire fleets of trucks and SUVs. We’ve recently highlighted how GM’s ideological priorities are coming at the expense of customer safety.
And let’s not forget Sir Jeremy Darroch, knighted by none other than King Charles himself. Darroch is a key figure in the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), which we’ve also exposed for its destructive economic agenda targeting traditional industries and consumer freedoms.
At a time when Disney’s leadership should be engaging in serious self-reflection, the Board of Directors is instead doubling down on behavior that has fractured its customer base, cast the company into repeated controversies, and led to a massive decline in shareholder value. The most fundamental fiduciary duty of any board member is the “Duty of Care”—the requirement to always act in the best interest of shareholders. One could easily argue that Disney’s Board is breaching that duty by prioritizing ideological crusades over corporate responsibility.
And just to drive the point home: on the same day these two pro-American proxy measures were rejected, the Board approved Bob Iger’s $41 million pay package.
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