Will Disney Become “Less Woke” After Executive’s Recent Departure?

It’s been a strange time for the Walt Disney Company; things are certainly shifting, and it’s not entirely clear where they are headed.

Over the last few months, we’ve seen a significant undertaking, ostensibly under returned Disney CEO Bob Iger’s direction, as Mr. Iger works to restructure the company and redirect Disney’s money and energy to more profitable endeavors. This has been in an attempt to clean up the mess former Disney CEO Bob Chapek reportedly left behind, and reassure shareholders that Disney isn’t, in fact, a sinking ship. However, it remains to be seen if Mr. Iger will be able to pull this off, though, the CEO is certainly taking drastic measures to make this happen; think the 7000-person layoffs.

Criticism Levied at the Walt Disney Company

While Disney is working through this restructuring and is fixing any cracks in its foundation, it’s also dealing with a barrage of criticism coming its way from multiple parties. One of the most widespread and highly-reported-on criticisms of the Mouse House has been its apparent “wokeness.”

Read More: Right-Wing Troll Wants to Take Down Disney for Its ‘Wokeness’

Whether Disney is actually woke or not, many have been using Disney’s response to the “Don’t Say Gay” law, as well as their recent casting decisions, as evidence that the Walt Disney Company is pandering to “woke audiences.”

Chief Diversity Officer Quits; Will Disney Become Less Woke?

Just this week, it was announced that the Chief Diversity Officer, Latondra Newton, was exiting the Mouse House. Newton reportedly wanted to focus on some personal ventures. While this has raised questions about what is going on within the mile-high walls of the Walt Disney Company, some have taken to speculating about what this will mean for the direction of the company with respect to the long-time criticism of wokeness.

Writer Tom Knighton analyzed Newton’s departure, positing that perhaps there was more to the story than Disney was letting on.

Knighton explored the possibility of whether Newton was responsible for pushing the “woke agenda” many have accused Disney of recently. He argues,

If Newton was, in fact, the one spearheading the idea of race-swapping Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid or including a central gay character in Strange World or a non-binary one in Elemental—all of which have been argued to be part of why those works didn’t perform as well as expected—then there’s a problem.

Knighton concludes, “Does this mean Disney is going back to just trying to make entertaining stuff rather than pushing a social agenda? We’ll have to see, but it would be nice.”

While these speculations are interesting, only time will tell what the impact of this massive restructuring will be.