Two months ago we pondered which of the two expected top candidates — Josh D’Amaro or Dana Walden — the board of directors at Disney would choose to succeed CEO Bob Iger.
The answer came this week, and the selection was the former, who previously ran the company’s Parks and Experiences division. With the choice made, speculation is now out that the directors — with former Morgan Stanley Chairman/CEO James Gorman leading the search — made the safer, more neutral choice. The runner-up, Walden, was granted a consolation prize: a newly created title as President and Chief Creative Officer, which is supposed to be an elevation from her previous title as co-chair of the entertainment division that oversees television and streaming.
NLPC, an investor in Disney that has sponsored a number of shareholder proposals in recent years, warned against the dangers of the company making Walden the pick, considering her outward, financially aggressive support for leftist causes and candidates. Elevating her to CEO could lead to a similar politicization template established by Iger for two decades, which was partially responsible for the company’s downward spiral in public admiration and stock value.
With the decision announced and one-big-happy-family publicity photos now in the media (see Disney’s picture of Walden and D’Amaro above), the recaps about the selection process are now coming out, and it looks like Walden’s politics might have scared the board away from making her the top pick after all. The New York Post reports:
Disney executive Dana Walden’s close friendship with former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris may have hurt her chances to succeed Bob Iger as head of the media conglomerate, according to a report.
Sources told Variety that the relationship risked making Disney a target for the Republican Trump administration, with the publication noting the White House has shown no hesitation about fighting powerful media businesses…
Dana Walden has also been a steady financial backer of Harris’s political career — dating back to the latter’s campaigns for San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, US senator and president.
In December NLPC pointed out Walden’s other political contribution history:
Tens of thousands of dollars have transferred from Walden’s coffers to entities including (of course) Harris, Joe Biden, the Democratic National Committee, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (including a campaign to prevent his recall), Nancy Pelosi, Senators Chuck Schumer (NY), Raphael Warnock (GA), Cory Booker (NJ), and Amy Klobuchar (MN), and thousands of dollars that were divvied up between dozens of state Democratic parties.
Variety also reports that Walden had “jockey[ed] for the job,” but nonetheless her new position places “her as one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood.” Much of Disney’s moribund financial performance has been attributed to the “woke-ification” of its valuable creative intellectual properties like Mickey Mouse and company, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and many others. Now, despite falling short for the top job, Variety reports that the expectation will be “that Walden will be the main decision-maker on the content that Disney produces,” with Iger stating that “given that creativity is at the heart of everything Disney does, she is a wonderful choice to serve in this new leadership role.”
So there’s reason to be concerned that Walden is not only in charge of TV and streaming product, but also theatrical releases, where progressive politics and lack of imagination have infected Disney’s output. An analysis of the leadership changes by Matt McGloin of industry website Cosmic Book News stated:
With Walden’s elevation comes renewed controversy over her past statements about “inclusion” and content standards at Disney.
Back in 2021, during a “Women in Focus” panel, Dana Walden made headlines after revealing that ABC, under her leadership, rejected multiple “well-written scripts” because they didn’t meet the company’s “standards in terms of inclusion.”
Specifically, she recalled turning down a show centered around a white family:
“I will tell you for the first time we received some incredibly well-written scripts that did not satisfy our standards in terms of inclusion, and we passed on them.”
Walden recalled her reaction to a script that centered around a white family:
“Pass. That’s not going to get on the air anymore because that’s not what our audience wants. That’s not a reflection of our audience, and I feel good about the direction we’re moving.”
McGloin added that Disney-owned ABC also implemented “strict inclusion policies” on Walden’s watch:
A staff memo emphasized the company’s aim to transform both content and work environments by prioritizing race- and identity-based diversity initiatives (wokeness):
“These new guidelines are intended to make our content and our sets as inclusive as possible, and will serve as a further catalyst for real and sustained change. We want to take this moment to evaluate systems and habits in an effort to remove barriers to access and opportunity. It’s important for us to look around the room, see who’s not there, and then take the steps to not only bring them in, but also set them up for success.”
Creativity is said to not be D’Amaro’s strength, while Walden is supposed to have many deep connections to Hollywood’s artistic talent. That means there’s great potential for more woke movies and programming, leading to further destruction of Disney’s once-admired storytelling and characters. Time will tell if we can expect clear roles and strengthened performance between D’Amaro and Walden, or a return to dysfunction like we’ve seen under Iger, especially when he couldn’t release the leadership reins to his short-lived replacement Bob Chapek.
