At a company-wide meeting with staffers on Monday, Disney leadership announced that it is planning to “take action” against Texas for the state’s order to investigate trans medical procedures on children as child abuse, inside sources told The Daily Wire.
The meeting began with Disney CEO Bob Chapek reiterating his apologies for the company’s initial refusal to take a public stand against Florida legislation that would ban classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity with kindergarten- to third-graders enrolled in public schools. According to the insider, Chapek said that he appreciates the feedback he’s received from LGBTQIA+ employees and admitted that he made mistakes in addressing the “Parents Rights in Education” bill, but he said that “the pain this community experienced was not just about this one piece of legislation but about not being there anytime this community has been hurt.”
Chapek then said that Disney leadership will be going on a “listening tour” of gay, transgender, and non-binary employees.
After his comments, a panel of LGBT activists gave a talk one Disney staffer said was “about wanting Disney to indoctrinate kids.” This was followed by an address from Nadine Smith of the non-profit group, Equality Florida.
Following the panel, Disney’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Paul Richardson, announced that the company is planning to “take action” against Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s order to the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate those performing some sex-change surgeries or treatments on children.
“Because of our presence in Texas,” Richardson reportedly said, “we want you to know that we’ve signed on to the Human Rights Campaign’s letter opposing the Texas bill that criminalizes parents who provide for their transgender children gender affirming care.”
One employee described the presentations during the meeting as a strategy session for circumventing the will of mothers and fathers. “These activist employees and outside organizations recognize Disney’s cultural significance,” he said, “They want to use the company to make an end-run around parents through content creation and political pressure. They see it as their mission to rescue the next generation from their conservative parents.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, a group of companies has already come out in favor of trans surgeries and hormone treatments on children, including Apple, Macy’s, Ikea, and Google. An ad signed by more than 60 businesses insists that “discrimination is bad for business.”
The ad goes on to say, “The recent attempt to criminalize a parent for helping their transgender child access medically necessary, age-appropriate healthcare in the state of Texas goes against the values of our companies. It’s not just wrong, it has an impact on our employees, our customers, their families and our work.”
Unlike those companies, however, Disney’s key customer bases include parents, who may take issue with the company’s stance.
The Disney employee present at the meeting told us he walked away with one conclusion: “This is a complete institutional takeover. Disney is lost.”