The company behind CoComelon — the Netflix show for toddlers under fire for its depiction of a small boy dressed in a tutu and tiara dancing for his two gay dads — is owned by two former Disney executives who remain close with its CEO Bob Iger.
Candle Media was founded by the former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs after they purchased CoComelon’s creator, Moonbug, in 2021 for a reported $3 billion. The pair were both recently removed from senior executive positions at Disney, where Mayer held roles such as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Staggs, who was once viewed as the heir apparent to Iger, rose as high as Chairman of Walt Disney Parks And Resorts.
The pair joined forces with the backing of investment firm Blackstone to acquire Moonbug Entertainment, which was responsible not only for CoComelon but also Blippi, a pair of shows that regularly sit atop its programming for children. They are co-founders and co-CEOs of the company, which also brought in another former Disney executive, Salil Mehta, on to be its CFO.
Though the company has celebrated the fact that CoComelon and its affiliated spinoff show, CoComelon Lane, are the top kids shows watched on Netflix, it is now facing a wave of criticism for its recent episode showing a young boy presenting as a girl to his two gay dads.
“Even the most popular kids show in the world, Cocomelon, is no longer safe for your children,” wrote Jeremy Boreing, The Daily Wire’s cofounder, in an X post on the show’s ties to Disney. “And that isn’t by accident. Hollywood is a machine hellbent on brainwashing your kids, and we’ve uncovered deep ties between the guys who own Cocomelon and – you guessed it – Disney.”
Even the most popular kids show in the world, Cocomelon, is no longer safe for your children.
And that isn’t by accident. Hollywood is a machine hellbent on brainwashing your kids, and we’ve uncovered deep ties between the guys who own Cocomelon and–you guessed it–Disney.… https://t.co/FWb089AG8n
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) December 20, 2023
With Iger back at the helm of Disney, Mayer and Staggs have found their way back to their former employer. In July 2023, Disney hired the former executives back as consultants to help the company as it “defines its strategy” going forward.
But their own company, Candle Media, appears to be in no better shape than Disney. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the company has more than $1 billion in debt largely due to failures of shows such as CoComelon to meet earnings forecasts. Its other acquisitions, such as Reece Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company, also fell far short of forecasts.
“It was a disappointing year for sure,” Mayer told Bloomberg in October. “But we like our position.”
Candle Media did not respond to an inquiry on Cocomelon’s controversial episode and the backlash.
“Cocomelon has 172 billion views on YouTube and is the #1 and #2 most popular kids shows on Netflix, and they just introduced two Dads encouraging their son to choose whatever feels right,” Boreing said. “But we know it’s not about what feels right, it’s about what *is* right.”
He added that portrayals of the family such as CoComelon’s are why he founded Bentkey, an alternative “platform for kids entertainment that actually reinforces our values and protects kids from the most radical ideas of today.”
“Building alternatives is the only way we can win, and every new subscriber to Bentkey is making an investment into that future,” Boreing said.
The Daily Wire launched Bentkey in October on the 100th anniversary of Disney’s founding as Disney continues to struggle with plummeting favorability ratings and becomes more and more openly political. The Bentkey app features numerous kids shows, including Bentkey original shows like “A Wonderful Day with Mabel Maclay,” and “Chip Chilla.”