Shifting focus from family-friendly entertainment to politics and ideological wars, Disney had a rough 2022 as its two biggest "woke" flicks flopped at the box office.
From legal battles with Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis to leadership changes, one author argues the company has been left in "turmoil" as a result of putting politics over the company's mission.
"I believe [Bob Chapek] was ousted because the business is in turmoil," author and executive Jennifer Sey said on Fox Nation's "The Death of Hollywood." "Their stock is down 40% on the year, and he's more concerned with fighting with a very popular governor than actually improving the product and improving the business."
During the first episode of Fox Nation's "The Death of Hollywood" hosted by FOX Radio's Jimmy Failla, industry experts explore how the battle between Disney and Gov. DeSantis began as early as the controversial Parental Rights in Education Act.
The act, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay Bill" by opponents, caused outrage among many Disney employees who put pressure on company head Chapek to take a stand. Pushing Disney into a more heated political landscape, the company took greater risks in the name of inclusivity and diversity.
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"They have pressure from within the company to do it. So we have a lot of artists coming in and saying, You have to stand up for this," author and screenwriter Andrew Klavan said during the Fox Nation special. "They are completely sequestered from ordinary people. They do not know the audience anymore."
Under Chapek's leadership, Disney's first animated film with an openly LGBT+ character "Strange World," tanked at the box office last December. The film had a whopping $180 million budget but only took in $24 million when it opened during the Thanksgiving holiday week, according to Variety. Pixar's latest installment in the popular Toy Story franchise, "Lightyear," failed to meet expectations, barely breaking even at the box office. The family-friendly film series owned by Disney attracted headlines for having a same-sex kiss in its latest incarnation.
Chapek took over Disney in 2020 but left the company in late 2022, replaced by his predecessor, Bob Iger, who first left Disney in 2020. At a Disney town hall in November, Iger told the company, "Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not. It can be distracting, and it can have a negative impact on the company. And to the extent that I can work to kind of quiet things down, I’m going to do that."
The four-part Fox Nation mini-series also looks beyond Disney at the history of Hollywood, cancel culture and even award shows like the Oscars.
Hollywood has seen an overwhelming surge in woke activism from celebrities to awards shows to television to music, and many industry experts argue that Hollywood is taking a greater hit due to woke ideology just like Disney.
"Nobody wants to get a lecture on inequality from a woman who's wearing a dress that cost more than their house," host Jimmy Failla said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday. "The same thing about a guy. You make 30 million a year to pretend you're a cop while cops are underfunded. Nobody asked for that. And that's the scam of Hollywood."
While more celebrities are reversing course on the woke wave and calling out cancel culture, Hollywood seems to have taken a hard hit from putting partisan politics over entertainment. To discover whether the entertainment industry has a chance for a comeback, catch "The Death of Hollywood" streaming now on Fox Nation.
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Fox News' Kristine Parks and Thomas Phippen contributed to this report.
