Bob Iger: Disney’s Job Is “Not to Advance Any Kind of Agenda”

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Asked whether Disney would stay out of politics, CEO Bob Iger said that the company is not out to “advance any kind of agenda,” but rather is focused on entertainment. 

“Our job is to entertain first and foremost, and by telling great stories, we continue to have a positive impact on the world and inspire future generations, just as we’ve done for over 100 years. Disney has always been and will continue to be a source of hope, joy and optimism for people of all ages. We’re committed to telling stories that reflect the world around us and using those stories to entertain people from all walks of life,” Iger said during the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. 

“I’ve always believed that we have a responsibility to do good in the world. But we know our job is not to advance any kind of agenda. So as long as I’m in the job, I’m going to continue to be guided by a sense of decency and respect. And we will always trust our instincts,” he continued.

The comments come after proposals from different shareholders asking Disney to alternatively stay out of progressive politics, with particular critique levied at Iger, and to be more progressive with the political candidates and causes it gives money to. Both proposals failed after votes by shareholders.

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But Iger did seem to acknowledge that critiques of Disney’s content as being “woke” may have a certain degree of merit, though he added “the term woke is thrown around rather liberally, no pun intended in that regard. I think a lot of people don’t even understand really what it means.”

"I think the noise is sort of quieted down. I’ve been preaching this for a long time at the company before I left and since I came back then our number one goal is to entertain,” Iger added. “The bottom line is that infusing messaging as a sort of a number one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining, and where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world whether it’s you know, fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types, great.

“But generally speaking, we need to be an entertainment first company … And understanding that look, we’re trying to reach a very, very diverse audience. And on one hand in order to do that, what you do, the stories you tell, have to really reflect the audience that you’re trying to reach, but that audience because they are so diverse, really, first and foremost, they want to be entertained, and sometimes they can’t be turned off by certain things. And we just have to be more sensitive to the interest of a broad audience. It’s not easy, you know, so that he can’t please everybody all the time, right?”

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