Shareholders Demand Disney End Donations to Politicians Who “Misalign” With Company’s Values

On April 3, The Walt Disney Company will hold its Annual Shareholders Meeting. The Annual Shareholder’s Meeting is when shareholders can make proposals that other shareholders vote on. Oftentimes these proposals involve Disney having to explain decisions they made, donations they made, and votes on whether the company should be more transparent on its political spending. This will be the first Shareholder’s Meeting to take place since Bob Iger once again became CEO of the company.

Iger officially stepped back into the CEO role after ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek was unceremoniously fired in November 2022. During his less than three years as CEO, Chapek made a number of controversial decisions, including publicly denouncing Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill. Chapek had been called out for not saying anything about the bill, and then he was called out for speaking against it.

The company then engaged in a heated battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. During the back-and-forth, Mr. Chapek announced that Disney would be pausing all political donations in the Sunshine State.

Disney may have paused all political donations in Florida, but some of the shareholders want more. According to a new proposal, shareholders want Disney to stop donating to politicians that do not align with the company’s values. According to the Proxy’s Shareholder Statement, sent to all shareholders:

Shareholders request that Disney annually analyze and support, at reasonable expense, the congruence of its political and electioneering expenditures during the preceding year against its publicly stated company values and policies, listing and explaining instances of incongruent expenditures, and stating whether the identified incongruencies have or will lead to a change in future expenditures or contributions. 

The main point of contention that the shareholders have is that Disney has spoken out in support of LGBTQ+ rights, voiced support for minority Cast Members said that it will cover the expenses of women who need to travel out of their home state for their reproductive health, and has said that is working to actively reduce the company’s carbon footprint. However, the company has donated to politicians who have worked against all the values the company claims to hold.

Disney, for its part, has asked shareholders to vote against the proposal about being more open about its political spending. Disney has said that the proposal is impractical and would be too difficult to put into practice. Disney — like other major companies — donates to dozens of politicians who will help its business and doesn’t necessarily focus on the politician’s social policies.