Disney and Other Corporations Find Wokeness Bad for Bottom Line

It is no secret that much, if not most, of corporate America has been dutifully bending the knee to the latest fads in liberal ideology, pushing advertisement, products and content many customers find intentionally offensive.

Sadly, the Walt Disney Company has been a leader here for many years. Disney imagineers have boasted about being “really open to exploring queer stories” featuring “gender nonconforming” and “trans characters” in their entertainment products.

But Disney’s most recent official financial filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission shows they are realizing such virtue signaling is harming their shareholders and the company’s bottom line. The Walt Disney Company’s Form 10-K, filed in mid-November, confessed,

 We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products, which impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and the profitability of any of our businesses.

Speaking plainly, this means they realize too many customers are actively rejecting what the House of Mouse is pushing on them and their children. These risks, Disney admits, are based on the fact that “consumers’ perceptions of our position on matters of public interest, including our efforts to achieve certain of our environmental and social goals, often differ widely and present risks to our reputation and brands.”

Yes, they most certainly do, as evidenced by this “cast member.”

This was from back in May. We need to boycott harder to make them pay attention.pic.twitter.com/Ta2dwyAaSa

— Jason Jones (@jonesville) August 25, 2023

Such troubling casting decisions are, as previously reported by Daily Citizen, the result of a 2021 addition to Disney’s “longstanding tradition of The Four Keys – Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency – which have guided our approach to guest service for more than 65 years.”

The company’s new fifth key, Inclusion, allows for “greater flexibility with respect to forms of personal expression surrounding gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewelry, nail styles, and costume choices; and allowing appropriate visible tattoos.” Thus, some Disney fairy godmothers are now dudes with full beards and it’s all presented as perfectly normal to your children.

The political publication, The Hill, observed, “Disney and other companies have previously ignored consumer backlash over corporate campaigns such as Disney’s opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law.”

They add, “Disney has reportedly lost a billion dollars just on four of its recent ‘woke’ movie flops, productions denounced by critics as pushing political agendas or storylines.”

The company has received other strong messages of disappointment from consumers over their woke messaging, leading to financial struggles. Disney leadership has previously announced it hears consumers loud and clear on such political and ideological matters, but continues to offend its loyal customers at numerous turns.

Disney is certainly not the only company facing customer revolt over wokeness. Axios reported recently that many major U.S. companies are seeing a backlash against their political activism and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

A report from the consulting firm Paradigm explains that many factors including “increasing politicization of diversity-related topics, and fatigue” are causing companies to slow their DEI campaigns. Axios quotes from Paradigm’s report that “external forces are no longer pushing companies to invest in DEI; instead, in some cases, external forces are pushing back on companies’ investment in DEI.” Those external forces are customers and the company’s own employees.

It is indeed a very positive sign that dissatisfaction has been so effectively voiced that companies are realizing they have gone too far in becoming, not faithful service and product providers, but activists pushing ideas and beliefs their customers know are not only false, but actually harmful.

This is a very hopeful turn. Let us pray it continues and grows.

Image from Shutterstock.