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Disney CEO Bob Chapek, speaking on the company’s earnings call, crushed the state of California — and, by extension, Governor Gavin Newsom — for mandating that Disneyland remains closed.
Reporters from Wall Street Journal and Hollywood Reporter shared:
"We're extremely disappointed that the state of California continues to keep Disneyland closed," says Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Besides hurting Disney employees, "the state is decimating small businesses in the local community," he adds.
— Joe Flint (@JBFlint) November 12, 2020
Disney CEO Bob Chapek criticizes California officials for not allowing Disneyland to open, says their reopening plans are "science-based," and that the decision is "decimating small businesses in the local community."
— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) November 12, 2020
This is frankly not surprising at all. In October, Disney issued the following statement about being forced to remain closed:
https://twitter.com/DisneyParksNews/status/1318644525565321217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1318644525565321217%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.outkick.com%2Fdisney-ceo-bob-chapek-crushes-california-for-keeping-disneyland-closed%2F
Earlier in the month, Disney chairman Bob Iger left Governor Newsom’s economic recovery task force, and it was clear that the two heavyweights — and possible competitors in the 2024 Democratic primaries — were embroiled in battle.
The obvious comparison to California is Florida, where the New York Times says that COVID-19 has not spread in Disney World in Orlando, FL as feared.
Nonetheless, Disney has, to my memory, never been this aggressive towards a government body on an earnings call. Could litigation be looming?
