TheQuartering [3/9/2021]
The Disney CEO had to respond to shareholders.
Disney CEO Chapek Bob Chapek Tuesday said he doesn’t “really see Disney as characterizing itself as left-leaning or right-leaning” – responding to a shareholder who accused Hollywood and the company of a double standard in firing Gina Carano from The Mandalorian because she’s a conservative.
The stockholder, speaking during the Q&A portion of Disney’s annual shareholder meeting, noted that co-stars Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano both controversially referenced Nazi Germany in social media comments but only she was removed. “What about the Disney black list?” he asked.
Chapek didn’t speak to the Carano incident directly but said Disney stands “for values that are universal: respect, decency, integrity and inclusion and we seek to have the content that we make reflective of the rich diversity of the world we live in. And I think that’s a world we should all live in harmony and peace.”
The actress was let go from the popular Lucasfilm and Disney series on Disney+ after she took to social media to, as Lucasfilm described it, post “abhorrent” material that compared the current divided political climate in the U.S. to Nazi Germany. This caused “#FireGinaCarano” to trend and eventually, she was.
Carano last month raised the issue of a double standard in an interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, noting that Pascal was not fired for a 2018 tweet comparing undocumented children in cages in the U.S. to Jews in concentration camps.
Asked about Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy, Chapek said he is “absolutely thrilled” with her and the company looks forward “to having Kathy directing the activities of the entire Lucasfilm operation for many years to come.”