Is D23 Coming to An End?

Back on February 8, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney would be engaging in massive layoffs. The layoffs were part of huge budget cuts, so the company could save $5.5 billion. An official date for the layoffs was not announced, but on March 27, the reported “bloodbath” at the House of Mouse began. Many executives lost their jobs and entire departments were dissolved. It was also announced that Disney was getting rid of its metaverse division, as well as the team looking into an Amazon Prime-style membership. Both of those divisions were created by now-fired CEO Bob Chapek.

We have also learned that the layoffs may affect not just those who work for Disney, but also the people who love Disney. According to reports, one of the people who was laid off by Disney was Jeffrey R. Epstein. Epstein was responsible for the creation of D23 — the Ultimate Disney Fan Club. He’s also the person who catapulted the D23 Expo into one of the biggest fan events in the world. Epstein was also one of the founders of Gay Days at Disneyland, which sees thousands of people visiting The Happiest Place on Earth every year to celebrate.

A report from The Wrap gives more details on Epstein’s departure:

Jeffrey R. Epstein, a vice president of corporate communications for Disney and the man who spearheaded the official Disney fan club D23, was among those laid off this week, TheWrap has confirmed.

News of the ouster came from six separate sources with knowledge of the situation.

Epstein’s dismissal was part of companywide layoffs that impacted Elizabeth Newman, VP of Development who was based at 20th Television while overseeing Creative Acquisitions for Disney Television Studios; Mark Levenstein, SVP Production for Hulu; Jayne Bieber, SVP Production Management & Operations for Freeform; and nearly the entire Disney metaverse team.

With Epstein’s departure, the future of D23 is left up in the air. There are several events for D23 members coming up, and Epstein would usually be in charge of those, and even make appearances. Those events include a trip to Marceline, Missouri, the inspiration behind Main Street, U.S.A., and the town Walt Disney grew up in, in addition to the premiere of Disney100: The Exhibit in Munich, and an anniversary screening of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in London.

There is also supposed to be another D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center in 2024, but confirmation of the event has not been announced. No one has been named as the new leader of D23, so we don’t know if Disney will continue on with its Ultimate Fan Club.