Disney CEO Bob Chapek may want to reconsider his opposition to Florida’s H.B. 1557 “Parental Rights in Education” bill. A new national poll commissioned by The Daily Wire finds that over two-thirds of Americans and most Disney consumers said the company is wrong to be against the legislation, which Democrats have dubbed as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
As previously reported, the national poll of U.S. adults was conducted over the weekend by market research technology platform Lucid on behalf of The Daily Wire. The survey’s 1,000 person sample was 37% Democrat, 32% Republican, and 31% Independent.
Consistent with the official 2020 popular vote totals, the poll showed a +4 point advantage for President Joe Biden in the 2020 ballot among the respondents who said they voted in the election. Additionally, it asked the respondents to identify companies whose products they buy or use, and among them was Disney.
Unlike other polls, The Daily Wire study presented the respondents actual text from the legislation. The researchers then informed the respondents that Disney opposes the bill and asked them whether the company’s stance is right or wrong:
“Which of the following statements do you agree with the most, even if none of them is perfect?” the poll asked before offering the two following choices:
Disney is wrong. This proposal would protect children from inappropriate topics that should be discussed by parents.
Disney is right. This proposal would be harmful to the LGBTQ community.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans said Disney was “wrong,” while 33% said the company is “right.”
Among Disney consumers, 61% said the company was wrong, and 39% said its stance is right.
Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeannette Nuñez told The Daily Wire that Disney is out of touch with parents and its own consumers.
“Disney is a corporation with a family-friendly brand. They should remember that the same families who take their kids to Disney parks and watch Disney shows also support age-appropriate education and parental rights,” Nuñez noted.
Disney inserted itself in the controversy when online activists began demanding that the company, which has a major presence in Florida, publicly oppose the legislation. This led to Chapek telling shareholders last week that he called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) Wednesday morning to express Disney’s “disappointment and concern” over the proposal.
The Disney CEO argued that if the legislation becomes law it “could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary and transgender kids and families.”
However, the Daily Wire study found that Americans across racial, party, and age lines support the Florida proposal, and people who purchase Disney’s products, movies, and theme park tickets seem to be no exception.
Among Disney consumers:
- 63% supported the Florida bill’s restrictions on K-3 instructions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- 64% believed it is inappropriate for teachers to instruct K-3 students on sexual orientation
- 63% believed it’s inappropriate for teachers to instruct K-3 students on gender identity
- 63% believed schools should notify parents if kids identify as a different gender at school
- 61% said Disney’s stance on this issue is wrong. The proposal would protect children from inappropriate topics.
Furthermore, 40% of Americans said they were “less likely” to purchase products from Disney due to their stance on the bill.
Entrepreneur and “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy argued Chapek should have stood by his initial stance of side-stepping the issue.
“What’s interesting about this situation is that Chapek initially tried to stake out a position that he didn’t want to get involved in politics“but within days, he was essentially bullied into taking a political stance under the illusion that it would be popular with his ‘stakeholders,’” Ramaswamy told The Daily Wire.
Nuñez agreed and highlighted Disney’s own past dealings with authoritarian regimes.
“When Disney attempts to say Florida is not woke enough, while doing business with the repressive Chinese Communist Party, it’s hard to take them seriously,” Nuñez remarked.
The Parental Rights in Education bill passed Florida’s House and Senate last week and is now headed to Governor DeSantis’ desk. He is expected to sign it sometime in the near future.
“Whatever you think of this bill, it is now clear that a loud minority was only pretending to represent the views of the majority,” Ramaswamy noted.
The Daily Wire reached out to Disney for comment on the story but has not received a response.
Methodology: This survey was conducted March 12-13, 2022 by Lucid, a Cint Group Company, on behalf of The Daily Wire. It has a margin of error of 5% with a confidence level of 95%. The survey’s respondents were provided by Lucid. It was not a poll of Daily Wire members.