Posted in: ABC, Disney+, Hulu, Movies, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: bob iger, CNBC, disney, elon musk, opinion, preview

Disney CEO: "A Lot of People" Have No Idea What "Woke" Really Means

Disney CEO Bob Iger on how he deals with "woke" accusations from Elon Musk & others and how "a lot of people" don't really know what it means.

A day after activist investor Nelson Peltz's efforts to lock up some spots on the Disney Board of Directors went up in flames, Disney CEO Bob Iger checked in with CNBC's Squawk on the Street for a "victory lap" interview covering a wide range of subjects – from Disney's proxy fight win against Peltz' people and the company's top priorities to succession plans for the next CEO and the future of sports streaming & ESPN. In addition, Iger responded to previous accusations from folks like Twitter/X owner Elon Musk and others that the company is hurting because it went "too woke" while also diving deeper into his comments yesterday that the company's top priority "is to entertain first and foremost" while adhering to the company's "responsibility to do good in the world" without advancing "any kind of agenda."

In terms of the "woke" accusations, Iger doesn't take it seriously and views it as no different than all of the other shots that folks have taken at Disney in the past. "I ignore it. It has no relevance to Disney or to me … People have been coming after the company and me for years, and I don't get distracted," Iger shared. As for the company's overall mission, Iger reaffirms that it's for Disney to entertain as many people as possible – but it also can't happen with blinders on to a diverse society.

"I think the noise is sort of quieted down. I've been preaching this for a long time at the company [from] before I left, and since I came back, that our number one goal is to entertain, I think the term 'woke' is thrown around rather liberally No, no pun intended. I think a lot of people don't even understand really what it means. The bottom line is that infusing messaging as a sort of a number-one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we're up to. They need to be entertaining. And where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world, whether it's, you know, fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types great. But, generally speaking, we need to be entertainment for an entertainment-first company, and I've worked really hard to do that," he explained.

Iger added, "We're trying to reach a very, very diverse audience. And, on one hand, in order to do that, the stories you tell have to really reflect the audience that you're trying to reach … And really, first and foremost, they want to be entertained, and sometimes they can be turned off by certain things. And we just have to be more sensitive to the interest of a broad audience. It's not easy; you can't please everybody all the time, right?"

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!