Bob Chapek, who happens to be the CEO of Walt Disney Company, has apologised for not speaking out against Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek Apologises After Receiving Backlash For Not Speaking Out Against Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
This law has the impact of stopping the discussion about sexual orientation and gender for students up to grade three. And given that Disney does employ a large number of people from the LGBTQ community, a certain subset of people were naturally outraged by the silence from the company.
In response to this backlash, Bob has had no choice but to come out and apologise for his failure to address this. In a statement, he said: “Speaking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you have helped me better understand how painful our silence was.
“It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights.” As a result, Bob has vowed to put his efforts towards any advocacy groups that can potentially counter this legislation.
Although that may be the case, there is a feeling that this is a little too late for the following reasons. First of all, other high-profile stars had already spoken out against this in the immediate aftermath including none other than talk show host, Andy Cohen.
Secondly, Bob’s actions could now be seen as an attempt to simply save face. And yet, he continued to stress that he would try to help. He added: “You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”
There was a huge amount of outrage on social media, as a result of Bob’s actions. A certain subset of people even stated that they would be willing to boycott Disney until something was done to address this.
One person wrote: “Well I won’t be seeing another Disney Movie until they fix things. Lost my money and I have a 16 month old. That’s years lost from me. #DisneySayGay.” It is clear that something needs to be done, but what that is anyone’s guess. Time will tell.
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