Disney stock has plummeted so low, that analysts are recommending to sell because the stock could drop lower and because of the tax benefits associated with selling. Disney finds itself in a precarious situation, with a failing record at the box office, parks, consumer, and their streaming service Disney plus. The failures are all self inflicted, and the loss in confidence of the Disney brand is a result, and reflected in those declining stock prices. The firing of Bob Chapek and the subsequent rehiring of Bob Iger has done little to curb the decline, and in fact has seen more misery come out of the house of mouse with job reductions and a Reedy Creek debacle that will have Disney stuck with a bill for hundreds of millions of dollars. At the core of Disney’s demise, is their stubborn commitment to a woke ideology that has been at the root cause of all of their failures. Disney has hunkered down…naively…with this commitment to identity politics, and this alone should make investors nervous as more and more fans leave the once trusted Disney brand.
Disney Lost 192 Billion Dollars
Disney’s stock price fell to an all time low of $84 last week, representing a 44% decline that hasn’t been seen since 1974. With a poor 4th quarter earnings report in November, and Bob Chapek’s subsequent firing, an already teetering stock price has proven more volatile than ever. Bob Iger’s return only managed to see a temporary rise in the stock price, which ultimately continued to stumble since, with even more instability predicted in Disney’s future. Just to put things in perspective, Disney has lost northward of 192 billion dollars in just 22 months. That’s staggering, and should be a warning sign to its investors that it’s time to change course…immediately.
Credit – Pixar
Iger is Committed to the Woke
Disney of course will sugar coat the loss of billions and rot that lies beneath, with a bunch of financial Mumbo jumbo and double talk, but the reality is that Disney has dug a hole so deep, that it might take years to recover and regain the trust and confidence of its fans. With the rehire of Bob Iger as CEO, it would appear that the board has no intention of changing course as was evident in a town hall meeting Bob Iger had with employees back in November. During that townhall, Bob Iger made it subtly clear that Disney is committed to diversity and inclusion in its storytelling.
“One of the core values of our storytelling is inclusion and acceptance and tolerance,” Iger said. “And we can’t lose that.”
This is Iger’s legacy, so of course he’s going to double down on the woke. We know Iger is committed because he’s the one responsible for the woke activism and hires within the company. All one need do is look at the content that has come out in the last couple of years such as all the race and gender swapped Avengers in the MCU and on Disney Plus, LGBTQ themed movies such as ‘Lightyear’ and ‘Strange World’, a spanish language only ‘West Side Story’, a gender swapped Doogie Howser TV show, a race swapped Wonder Years, and a race swapped Little Mermaid just to name a few of Disney’s plethera of diverse and inclusive mandates that parents and fans have had to look forward to. All of which failed miserably on their respective platforms…and Bob Iger is the one who green lit all of that content. For him to reverse course would be Iger admitting he was wrong…and that will never happen.
Related: Has Disney Fallen Too Far?
Disney is Losing Because Fans Expect the Woke
Disney has lost billions because it began to care more about what a few thought, rather than caring about the majority of its fans. Their obsession with identity politics has been so pervasive, that they forgot what made them so magical to millions of fans across the globe in the first place. It’s become so bad, that Disney uses its diverse casting or diverse plot points as marketing tools, thinking it will attract an audience. All this has done, however, is alienate its audience so much, that it’s become expected for any new Disney release to be laced with LGBTQ themes. Disney’s ‘Lightyear’, ‘StrangeWorld’, and the new ‘Little Mermaid’ live action are perfect examples of how Disney has focused its marketing on an animated movies first lesbian kiss, a homosexual relationship, or the color of a main characters skin. Shouldn’t the focus be on a great story, and not the quantity of diversity? If Disney’s board of investors doesn’t wake up soon, they will find themselves losing another 200 billion dollars.
Disney is an Untrusted Brand and Needs to Course Correct
Disney is in no way changing direction. From hiring inexperienced directors and show runners, to Disney executives committed to injecting their personal politics into content, parks, and merchandise, Disney has become an untrusted brand for both parents and fans. Is it any wonder that analysts are recommending investors sell off their stock? Is that not a sign or a lack of confidence? Fans used to be excited to go to the parks or await a new Disney animated princess movie or Pixar movie, excited about a new Star Wars movie or MCU installment…but not anymore. Disney has lost interest on all fronts among its fans, with no end to Disneys demise in sight. It’s going to take a complete course correction and back to basic creative storytelling, to save Disney from a woke activist virus that was injected into its core. Bob Iger may think he’s doing something noble in his quest to turn Disney into an identity politics bastion, but all he’s doing is destroying what was once an enchanted piece of Americana.
