Did Michael Jordan Reject a $120 Million Deal with Disney Due to Company’s “Wokeness”?

It’s another day for a fact check with Disney Fanatic.

Over the years, we have investigated various claims and rumors that have been floating around the Disney community.

Some of the many cases we’ve looked into include whether Disney was removing Cinderella Castle, whether Space Mountain was going to become a lights-on attraction, the possible closure of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and even whether Disney was removing seatbelts on Tower of Terror.

Every time a rumor has gone around, we’ve done our due diligence and provided our Disney Fanatics with answers. We even addressed the rumor that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent the National Guard to block entrances to Disney World.

Related: Disney vs. DeSantis: Did Governor DeSantis Send the National Guard to Block Entrances to Disney World?

Now, here’s another one to look into.

Claim: Michael Jordan Rejected a $120 Million Disney Deal

In March of 2023, there was a rumor making the rounds that NBA and basketball superstar Michael Jordan rejected a Disney deal—the deal was reportedly an ad deal wherein he was going to be “the new name and face of the company” and some even speculated he would have to even have to make appearances on Disney parades.

The news was going around in various social media posts and websites that reposted the same article (verbatim).

So where did this originate from?

Disney Fanatic’s Fact-Check

As reported by the outlet Snopes, the original article can be traced back to The Dunning-Kruger Times, “a subsidiary of the satire network America’s Last Line of Defense.”

The article was published with the headline: “Michael Jordan Turns Down $120 Million Ad Campaign With Disney: ‘I Like My Reputation'” and detailed that “The Walt Disney Corporation is trying desperately to rebrand itself after its time with “wokeness” backfired.”

However, the devil is in the details, and for those who might have missed it, we’ll spell it out: the original article was a satire piece.

The Dunning-Kruger Times themselves say on their “About Us” page:

Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. 

This satire piece is now resurfacing in false news as recent as December 2023:

Michael Jordan and Denzel Washington reject million dollar deals for Nike and Disney.

They allegedly say "we wont go woke" just to save your brands. pic.twitter.com/IuA7uQ9Seh

— Kagens Looking Glass ™ (@KagensNews) December 16, 2023

News outlets continue to debunk the false reporting as Michael Jordan fans attempt to set the record straight.

Regardless, that’s another Disney rumor that has been put to rest, and fans can rest easily that there has been no official announcement of a deal with Michael Jordan or rejection of such a deal.