Staff Reports
In a predictable yet still celebratory turn of events, Latondra Newton, Disney's Chief Diversity Officer, has resigned from her position after more than six years with the company. This decision comes in the wake of a series of underperforming films that attempted to promote progressive ideas. Newton had led Disney's efforts in diversity and inclusion, aiming to produce entertainment that would appeal to a global audience while fostering an inclusive work environment. However, it appears that audiences have grown weary of the constant injection of left-leaning propaganda in contemporary films.
A memo sent to staff Tuesday said the chief diversity officer decided to call it quits in order “to pursue other endeavors.” https://t.co/b4HwgfSgsq
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 21, 2023
Throughout her tenure at Disney, Newton regrettably endorsed a memo in May 2020, along with Bob Iger and Bob Chapek, titled "Resolve in the Time of Unrest," in response to the tragic killing of George Floyd. The memo expressed their commitment to cultivating a culture that acknowledges the emotions and pain of their employees, while emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion. Unfortunately, this type of virtue signaling aligned with leftist ideologies has contributed to Disney's decline.
Interestingly, Newton has decided to join the board of directors of another company instead of continuing her work in diversity initiatives at Disney. This shift could potentially indicate a waning interest in the 'woke' trend in favor of more traditional values. One can only hope.
Disney has experienced a series of failures with films labeled as 'woke,' such as "The Little Mermaid" and "Elemental." The former cast Black American singer Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel and incurred a production cost of $560 million. However, the latter film, featuring a non-binary character and addressing racism and xenophobia, had one of Pixar's weakest box office openings, generating only $29.5 million despite its $200 million production budget.
Adding to their troubles, Disney's two animated movies embracing LGBTQ themes turned out to be the biggest box office disasters of 2022, resulting in a loss of a quarter-billion dollars. "Strange World," showcasing Disney's first openly gay teenage hero, suffered a loss of nearly $200 million and received a "B" rating. Similarly, "Lightyear," which lost the company $106 million, received the lowest CinemaScore among all "Toy Story" films.
It seems that Disney has faced the consequences of prioritizing leftist ideology over delivering high-quality entertainment. This serves as a lesson for all companies that have embraced the 'woke' movement: the market has spoken, demanding traditional values and well-crafted content that people from all walks of life can enjoy without being subjected to lectures. Hopefully, Disney will learn from their mistakes and return to their roots of creating truly magical and timeless films.
