According to a blockbuster lawsuit against the media giant, former high rank Marvel executives claim that former Disney CEO Bob Chapeck refused to be promoted to him as he was “another white man.” .
Robert Stephens, who was Chief Financial Officer from 2015 to 2023 and later co-chairman of Marvel, was also known as Isaac Permatter, the then-Marvel CEO, in February 2022, and Disney CEO. One of the Disney consumer products that Bob Chapek allegedly said he bid Kibosh for the role of president; According to the lawsuit He filed it in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday.
Instead, the job was given to a woman of “ambiguous ethnicity,” after Perlmutter told Steffens that the company could not award the position to “another old white man.” Ta.
Chapeck was exiled and replaced by Bob Iger in the second half of 2022 after being caught up in the fight over the state's “gay” laws with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Steffens' lawsuit engages in a memorandum of understanding in which the “awakening” media giant “official efforts to promote vice presidents based on race and referring to employees with racial traits “Bipoc.” He claimed that he was doing so. [black, indigenous and people of color]. ”
Disney's actions were “willful, unjust, malicious, intentional, oppressive and despicable, with an intentional and conscious disregard for rights, welfare and safety.” [Steffens]The lawsuit said.
“Our main focus is on facts and law. We will strongly defend our clients' interests,” said Marcela Burke, Attorney Stephens. Talking to Fox News Digital Thursday.
Perlmutter was fired by Iger in March 2023. The Disney boss survived last year in a proxy battle led by Perlmutter and activist investor Nelson Peltz.
The lawsuit arises when Disney abandons some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies amid pressure from activist investors and crackdowns on the Trump administration's DEI.
On Monday, Disney closed its “Reimagine Tomorrow” program. This was used to highlight the narrative and talent of an underrated community. The initiative promised that 50% of the normal and repetitive characters across the Disney universe will come from “underrated groups.”
I also quietly rolled back other DEI programs this week.
The Reimagine Tomorrow program sparked anger in 2022 when a company-wide Zoom call was leaked on social media.
At the time, one Disney executive was promoting her as a “completely secret gay agenda,” while another Disney said in a bid to avoid alienating transgender children, “women, gentlemen.” He boasted that he was rubbing the words “boys, girls.”
President Trump recently ordered an end to DEI for the federal government, including many private companies, and its contractors.
Meanwhile, businesses are also under pressure from conservative critics who say the DEI program is discriminatory for non-exile.
Companies like Meta and John Deere rolled back the DEI program, while others like Apple and Costco were pushed back. Google, GM, Intel, Pepsi, Comcast, Philip Morris and others have softened or removed the DEI language.
The Battle of Dei is also being fought in court.
Target was hit by a class action lawsuit last week after shareholders alleged that retail giants misunderstood the risks of its DEI initiative.
