Billionaire slams “woke” Disney amid board proxy battle!
Nobody wants another Marvel movie that is all women!
BURBANK, Kalifornia (PNN) - March 24, 2024 - Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Partners owns a roughly $3.5 billion stake in Disney, has entered a fierce proxy fight to join the company's board.
Sitting down with the Financial Times, Peltz slammed the DEI-driven entertainment company.
"Disney is stupid because I’m not trying to fire [chief executive] Bob Iger, I want to help him," he said, adding, "We don’t fire CEOs."
Disney, meanwhile, says that Peltz has not "presented a single strategic idea" to the company while campaigning for two years to secure board seats.
Peltz hit back, telling the Times, "They say we know nothing about the movie business - we don’t claim we do - but I don’t think they do, with five big losers in a row. They’ve lost first place in animation, they’ve lost first place in features. Maybe it’s time to change management in those divisions."
In comments we're sure the Left will seize on, the billionaire investor then criticized Disney for pushing woke messaging as opposed to simply making great content.
"People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained," said Peltz. "They don’t go to get a message."
Elaborating further, Peltz asked "Why do I have to have a Marvel that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?" referring to Black Panther.
The Disney proxy fight is nearing its end, with a shareholder vote scheduled for April 3.
Both sides have been publicizing the support they’ve received from others in the business world. CEO Bob Iger has been endorsed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, filmmaker George Lucas, and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple, Inc.’s Steve Jobs and a large Disney shareholder.
Meanwhile, a group of current and former directors at firms including Mondelez International, Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and Janus Henderson Group Plc. this week co-signed a letter in support of Peltz.
As for politics, Peltz - who hosted a dinner in February with Elon Musk, says that President Donald J. Trump is "not a perfect candidate, nor is Biden," adding "It looks like Trump is all we got."
