Disney shareholder blasts CEO Bob Chapek, telling him to stop wasting the company’s money on “political crusades,” such as breaking Florida’s parental rights law

One Disney shareholder is disgusted and fed up that the company’s CEO, Bob Chapek, is expending company resources to crack down on a newly passed parental rights law that has been incorrectly dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Ray Keating, a Disney shareholder and publisher of DisneyBizJournal.com, “comments out against the company’s interference in Florida politics by actively opposing the Republican-led Parental Rights in Education Act, which was passed by the Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is being championed,” Fox Business reported Sunday.

Keating goes on to say that companies that become political activists rarely do well.

“Here’s a suggestion for Disney CEO Bob Chapek: get back to business, which means excellent storytelling, and stop wasting shareholders’ money on political crusades unrelated to Disney’s business,” he said Keating to Fox News Digital.

“We all have the right to raise our voice on issues, but not at the expense of shareholders,” Keating added.

Fox Business continued:

DeSantis signed into law this week banning teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Critics have portrayed the law as detrimental to LGBTQ inclusion, calling it a “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Eventually, under pressure from LGBTQ activists and progressive employees — some of whom have resigned in protest — Disney’s Chapek’s criticized Florida’s legislature, halted all political donations in Florida, and apologized to employees.

“You needed me as a stronger ally in the fight for equality, and I failed you,” Chapek said in a statement in March. 11. “I’m sorry.”

Last week, Disney announced it would join the legal effort to bring the law down.

“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, should never have been passed and should never have been made law,” Disney said in a statement. “Our goal as a company is to have this law repealed by the legislature or struck down in court, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to make that happen.”

Fox Business further noted:

Keating, who has written about how Disney’s activism is bad for business, said Disney’s Florida law decisions have caused the company to come under pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. Since Chapek has spoken out, critics from the right have hailed Disney as too “sweet” and have even spoken of boycotting the resort.

“Disney’s management gave in to political pressure from activists on the left, and now it’s being hit by the left and the right,” Keating told Fox News Digital. “If I wasn’t a shareholder, I would find that amusing.”

The word “gay” does not appear in Florida law. Rather, it states that “teaching by school staff or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through the 3rd grade may not be carried out or in a way that is not age- or development-appropriate for the students according to state standards.”

Following Disney’s public opposition, DeSantis has announced that it will rescind Disney’s special self-government status and other privileges the company enjoys in the state.

Noting that Disney “has alienated a lot of people now,” the governor told reporters in West Palm Beach on Thursday, adding, “And so the political clout that they’re used to, I think, is gone.” So the question is, why would you even want special privileges in the law? And I don’t think we should do that.”