Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE:DIS) response to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law is continuing to make waves, with former Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger offering a new round of opposition to the legislation while conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has offered a financial update on his efforts to challenge the production company with his own slate of family-friendly entertainment.
The Return Of Iger: The legislation, House Bill 1557, is officially called the “Parental Rights in Education” bill but has become branded "Don't Say Gay" by its opponents. The legislation prohibits teaching classes related to gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill on Monday, and the new law takes effect July 1.
Iger, who initially voiced his opposition to the Florida legislation before his successor Bob Chapek spoke out against it, renewed his criticism of the new law in an interview on Chris Wallace’s new CNN+ talk show.
"It's about right and wrong," he said. "To me, it wasn’t politics. It was what is right and what is wrong, and that just seemed wrong. It seemed potentially harmful to kids."
Iger added that the new law failed "to foster compassion and understanding and acceptance and enable young kids who might be gay to feel more confident, more comfortable, more part of society, if it could be discussed freely, as opposed to kept in the closet."
Iger also took an unsubtle jab at Chapek, who initially tried to avoid offering a public comment on the legislation when it was being debated by Florida lawmakers, but came out against it following pressure from members within his workforce.
"When you’re dealing with right and wrong, or when you’re dealing with something that does have a profound impact on your business, then I just think you have to do what is right and not worry about the potential backlash, to it," Iger said.
See Also: Gender Neutral Greetings At Disney Parks? Rabbis Say Company Succumbed 'To A Woke Mob'
Shapiro Ups The Ante: Separately, Ben Shapiro — who criticized Disney’s leadership for allowing itself to be “renormalized by the radical trans-activists inside the company” — is moving ahead with a pledge he made last week that his conservative media company The Daily Wire would create family-friendly entertainment content that would rival the Disney output.
Jeremy Boreing, The Daily Wire’s co-founder and co-CEO, used a corporate town hall meeting to announce that $100 million will be allocated over the next three years to create live-action and animated children’s production for streaming on its platform.
“Americans are tired of giving their money to woke corporations who hate them,” said Boreing. “They’re tired of giving their money to woke media companies who want to indoctrinate their children with radical race and gender theory. But they want to do more than just cancel them. They want alternatives — The Daily Wire is giving them those alternatives.”
Boreing said subscribers to The Daily Wire will have access to the content beginning in the spring of 2023.
