Disney CEO Who Punished Gina Carano For Free Speech Complains He Shouldn't Be Punished For Free Speech

Disney CEO Bob Iger reaffirmed his commitment to hypocrisy on Monday during the company's annual meeting of shareholders.

Disney has been under turmoil over the past year as the entertainment giant needlessly got involved in Florida's legislative process over the state's Parental Rights in Education bill.

Former CEO Bob Chapek initially decided to remain silent, before being pressured into speaking by internal and external activists.

After a tumultuous reaction from the media and a collapsing share price, Chapek was forced out by the Disney board and replaced by Iger. With Iger's help.

In his second stint as CEO, Iger took one of his first public opportunities to comment on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis famously helped push legislation across affecting Disney's self-governance over the Walt Disney World property in Florida.

Unsurprisingly, the company has desperately tried to fight the legislation resulting from their own inexcusable activism.

READ: DISNEY DESPERATELY ATTEMPTS TO STOP RON DESANTIS FROM TAKING CONTROL OVER DISNEY WORLD

But as part of addressing the Reddy Creek situation, Iger defended the company's actions, illustrating that he intends to continue engaging in acts of spectacular hypocrisy.

He said that the company should not be "punished for taking a stance and using its exercisable constitutional right" to freedom of speech.

Laughably, Iger also said he'll be "guided by a sense of decency and respect."

Interestingly, however, he remained silent about Disney's treatment of actress Gina Carano.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: Bob Iger attends the AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)

Iger Exemplifies Modern Disney

Virtually everything Iger said publicly is remarkably hypocritical, which of course means its been celebrated by the left.

In order for the government to violate their first amendment right to free speech, they'd have to pass a law restricting their ability to speak freely. Nothing about Florida's legislation does that.

But that buries the lede, which is that Iger clearly wants abilities that he's not willing to grant to his own employees.

As just one prominent example, Disney fired actress Gina Carano from The Mandalorian after a social media post.

Disney has every right to fire whoever it wants, but that decision was inarguably punishment for her exercising her constitutional right to free speech.

Iger, however, believes that there should not be punishment for his exercise of free speech. Quite simply, he doesn't want to be held to the same standards he holds others to. Unsurprisingly.

Rules for thee, but not for me. As always.

Further Hypocrisy

It's also hypocritical for him to claim he cares about "decency and respect." Disney employees have frequently complained about pay and working conditions.

In 2022, one report said that over 75% of Disneyland employees could not pay for basic living expenses. Average hourly wages dropped 15% from the year 2000-2017, with Iger taking over in 2005.

He also recently announced that Disney would be laying off 7,000 employees to save costs. Layoffs are often part of corporate restructuring, but surveys of affected employees would likely show they don't feel entirely respected.

Iger also helped negotiate a last minute, backroom deal to replace his handpicked CEO successor, Bob Chapek. And as the Wall Street Journal reported, Iger frequently "undermined" Chapek during his short tenure.

"Bob Iger had been out of Walt Disney Co. for nearly a year, but as most people around him knew, he had never really let go. Acting almost as a shadow CEO, he had undermined his successor and provided an ear for unhappy Disney executives, some of whom he had mentored."

Doesn't sound too respectful, does it?

Disney's Quick to Criticize DeSantis, Silent on Newsom

The hypocrisy is par for the course for Iger, who had the audacity to call Ron DeSantis "anti-business."

Removing Disney's self-governance over the Reddy Creek Improvement District is not "anti-business," considering Universal Orlando had no such benefits just a few miles up the road.

DeSantis also encouraged the company to open Walt Disney World as quickly as possible in 2020 to ensure that Floridians would be able to return to work quickly. In California, however, Gavin Newsom worked hard to ensure that Disneyland would needlessly remain closed for over a year.

Shockingly, Iger's made no public comments disparaging Newsom despite his "anti-business" stance. Unsurprisingly, Newsom is protected from Iger's public criticism by a shield of progressive politics.

Once again, hypocrisy is the name of Iger's game.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

Disney has no one to blame for their misfortunes but themselves.

Under Iger's tenure, the company moved further and further to the left, openly promoting their political ideology in their movies, which inevitably flop.

Now the company's financial fortunes are slipping, with a further hit from the Reddy Creek changes. All because they attempted to involve themselves in the legislative process over a bill that had nothing to do with them.

Iger's frustration should be aimed at his own employees, Disney's corporate culture that he helped create, and Chapek for caving to activist pressure.

Instead, as the committed hypocrite he is, he went after Ron DeSantis and inaccurately framed the argument while lying about his priorities.

Disney's mistakes over the past few years are endless. And some had hoped that Iger's second CEO stint would start with him admitting failures and learning from the company's poor decision making.

But based on Monday's remarks, it seems like he's intent on continuing Disney down the path that hurt them.

Good luck.