It just happened.
The Federal Communications Commission has set its sights on Disney — and therefore the jewel of the Disney companies, ABC — for discriminatory practices.
Someone apparently forgot to inform Disney that things were changing.
Either that, or the arrogance of CEO Robert Iger’s inner circle at the top of the Disney food chain is so great that the top brass just didn’t think their full throttle DEI practices would ever catch up with them.
And it probably wouldn’t have, if the Democrats hadn’t torched their party, and if President Trump hadn’t stayed in the fight for the last 4 years.
But Disney’s all-in approach to DEI is catching up to them, because FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has directed the Enforcement Bureau to investigate Disney for what he is calling “invidious” forms of discrimination.
🚨 #BREAKING: FCC Chair @BrendanCarrFCC has ORDERED an investigation into Disney & ABC for their DEI hiring practices
DEI Snow White really exposed them on this one 🤣
Carr says these practices could “violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qHMzkaZk4v
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 28, 2025
I’ll be honest — INVIDIOUS is not a vocab word I learned in high school.
So I looked it up.
Invidious — that’s a great word! And appropriate for describing the OPEN DISCRIMINATION that Disney practiced under the banner of DEI!
FCC Chairman Carr announced on his X account that he initiated the investigation into Disney’s discrimination issues, and included the 3 page letter he sent to Disney CEO Robert Iger.
I have asked the @FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney & ABC.
While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI.
I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination. pic.twitter.com/E31QwwFcxA
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 28, 2025
Here is the entirety of the body of FCC Chairman Carr’s letter to Disney CEO Robert Iger:
Mr. Robert A. Iger
Chief Executive Officer
The Walt Disney Company
RE: Investigation into Disney/ABC’s DEI ProgramsDear Mr. Iger,
I am writing to inform you that I have asked the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney and ABC. In particular, I want to ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination. While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain.
For one, I want to ensure that Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name. For another, I want to determine whether Disney’s actions—whether ongoing or recently ended—complied at all times with applicable FCC regulations.
As you know, Disney started out a century ago as an iconic American company. For decades, Disney focused on churning out box office and programming successes. But then something changed. Disney has now been embroiled in rounds of controversy surrounding its DEI policies.
Numerous reports indicate that Disney’s leadership went all in on invidious forms of DEI discrimination a few years ago and apparently did so in a manner that infected many aspects of your company’s decisions.
As you may know, the Communications Act and Commission rules prohibit regulated entities like Disney’s ABC from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or gender. Indeed, the FCC’s longstanding equal employment opportunity or EEO rules set forth specific requirements to which Disney’s regulated operations must adhere.
Nonetheless, I am concerned that ABC and its parent company have been or may still be promoting invidious forms of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations.
ADVERTISEMENTIn recent years, Disney made DEI a key priority for the company’s businesses and embedded explicit race- and gender-based criteria across its operations. Indeed, public reports—including ones based on whistleblower documents—paint a disturbing picture of Disney’s DEI practices.
In at least one account, a Disney employee described the company’s decision to launch what would amount to racially-segregated affinity groups and spaces. The company also publicly launched a “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, it would appear, as a mechanism for advancing its DEI mission. It also implemented mandatory “Inclusion Standards” across ABC, requiring, for example, that “50 percent of regular and recurring characters” be drawn from “underrepresented groups.” These standards may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production—demanding that “50% or more” of writers, directors, crew, and vendors be selected based on group identity. It appears that executive bonuses may also have been tied to DEI “performance,” and ABC has utilized race-based hiring databases and restricted fellowships to select demographic groups.
Although your company recently made some changes to how it brands certain efforts, it is not clear that the underlying policies have changed in a fundamental manner—nor that past practices complied with relevant FCC regulations.
As I have made clear, promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law. Doing so only deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law.
President Trump took quick and decisive action on this. In his first week in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order that will end the radical and wasteful DEI programs that have spread across the federal government. And at my direction, the FCC has already taken action to end its own promotion of DEI. I have been pleased to see that some regulated companies are already taking steps toward rooting out discriminatory DEI policies.
As Chairman of the FCC, it is important to me that the entities the Commission regulates fully adhere to the FCC’s rules and regulations. In order to aid the FCC’s investigation into these matters, the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau will be engaging with your company to obtain an accounting of Disney and ABC’s DEI programs, policies, and practices. The Enforcement Bureau will follow up with more specifics.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and attention to these important matters.
Sincerely,
Brendan Carr
Chairman
Carr didn’t beat around the bush in his letter to Disney’s Iger, laying out plainly that it seems obvious that the DEI practices that have become public knowledge over the last few years likely equate to discrimination.
I particularly appreciate that Carr included examples footnoted in his letter, to ensure Iger could reply with… “Nu-uh.”
Disney should have seen this coming from miles away.
President Trump has consistently highlighted his reasoning for making Carr the permanent FCC Chair — his focus on deregulation and return to honoring basic freedom — as evidenced in President Trump’s official announcement of Carr’s nomination:
SURELY CEO Robert Iger knew this day would come!?
Car even cited Disney’s ‘Reimagine Tomorrow’ initiative, an obvious program designed to push the DEI agenda even farther down the road, as reported by Fox Business News:
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced a new investigation into “DEI practices” at Disney and its flagship company ABC via X Friday.
“I have asked the @FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney & ABC,” Carr wrote. “While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI.
“I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination.”
According to Carr, the Communications Act and FCC “prohibit regulated entities like Disney’s ABC from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or gender.”
Carr also cited several news reports from recent years in the reasoning for an FCC investigation, including one employee account to “amount to racially segregated affinity groups and spaces.”
“[Disney] also publicly launched a ‘Reimagine Tomorrow’ initiative, it would appear, as a mechanism for advancing its DEI mission,” Carr wrote. “It also implemented mandatory ‘Inclusion Standards’ across ABC, requiring, for example, that ‘50 percent of regular and recurring characters’ be drawn from ’underrepresented groups.
“These standards may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production — demanding that ‘50% or more’ of writers, directors, crew, and vendors be selected based on group identity,” Carr wrote.
“Chairman Carr has been consistent and clear from day one. He expects all regulated businesses to end any invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” an FCC spokesperson shared with FOX Business.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Trump administration has made headlines in its first 100 days for its anti-DEI policies and executive orders for departments and institutions nationwide.
There is little doubt James O’Keefe’s investigative journalism played a role in bringing Disney’s discriminatory practices to light.
Remember when O’Keefe came out with the hidden camera story revealing those DEI practices?
A top Disney Exec was caught saying bluntly that Disney would absolutely not hire or promote White men, as part of their adherence to the DEI ‘woke’ agenda.
NEW: FCC chair Brendan Carr says he’s preparing to investigate Disney for their DEI practices.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of everything that is ongoing here.”
Last year, a Disney executive was caught in undercover footage saying they won’t hire or promote White males… pic.twitter.com/wihaPwKrkX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 28, 2025
Here’s the full screen video of that snippet of hidden camera footage:
NEW: FCC chair Brendan Carr says he’s preparing to investigate Disney for their DEI practices.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of everything that is ongoing here.”
Last year, a Disney executive was caught in undercover footage saying they won’t hire or promote White males… pic.twitter.com/wihaPwKrkX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 28, 2025
And Disney better get ready for the microscopes and white-glove treatment.
Brendan Carr is not one to skip over an issue, once he has it in his sights.
In fact, he has sworn to ‘get to the bottom of everything’!
FCC to probe Disney over DEI practices: ‘Going to get to the bottom of everything’ https://t.co/j41K0yODej pic.twitter.com/crEDS4hP8U
— New York Post (@nypost) March 28, 2025
Someone should probably let Disney know… that likely means “EVERYTHING”.
His letter should be a dead give away for CEO Iger when it highlights such specifics, and avoided generalities.
Carr knows exactly what the issues are already; there’s not going to be much use in trying to hide them, now.
He didn’t claim Disney had generally discriminatory hiring practices.
He hit Iger with SPECIFICS.
For example, he SPECIFIED that Disney’s POLICY is that “50 percent of regular and recurring characters” would come from specified groups, according to the New York Post:
The Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation into Disney over its controversial diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, as the agency intensifies its pushback against what it deems “woke” initiatives.
He noted particularly concerning aspects, such as requiring that “50 percent of regular and recurring characters” come from underrepresented groups and imposing quotas on writers, directors, and crew.
“Promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law,” Carr wrote.
“Doing so only deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law.”
Disney previously announced it would end its “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, though Carr expressed skepticism about whether substantial policy changes had truly occurred.
ADVERTISEMENTThe move by Carr, who was appointed by President Trump, adds further complexity to Disney’s ongoing public controversies, including recent shareholder debates around DEI policies and a $15 million settlement by ABC News in a defamation suit brought by Trump.
Disney has faced backlash over its DEI efforts, notably regarding the casting choices of Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Halle Bailey as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” prompting public debate over fidelity to original character portrayals.
In 2021, Disney announced that Zegler, a Latina actress, would portray Snow White in the just-released live-action adaptation, which has been panned by critics and which subsequently bombed at the box office during its opening weekend.
This casting decision led to significant uproar, with critics arguing that Zegler’s ethnicity did not align with the character’s traditional depiction as having “skin as white as snow.”
Similarly, Disney’s casting of Bailey, a black actress, as Ariel in the live-action remake of the animated classic sparked similar debates.
As the New York Post noted, the DEI policies aren’t the only problems Disney is coming to terms with at the moment.
There has obviously been a shift from the previous ability of corporations to hide their discrimination amongst the conflated issues of non-discriminatory practices, and the issue of adherence to aspects foundational to a story’s original essence.
That shift has brought both issues into the light, where they can each be treated separately — as they should be.
It is not discriminatory to hire a fair-skinned actress to play Snow White, who has fair skin as an integral part of her character!
Meanwhile, it is VERY discriminatory to maintain a hiring policy that will NEVER hire a person based on some group identity linked to sex, religious beliefs, or racial background.
This is American freedom 101, Disney — YOU USED TO KNOW THIS!
This isn’t rocket science, and it only became CONFLATED when that dreaded ‘woke mind virus’ broke out and ruined everyone’s ability to think clearly!
Though I suspect there may be some clearheaded thinking happening in the upper echelons of Disney’s ivory towers at the moment.
This investigation is highly unlikely to simply go away, and Disney knows it.
Maybe since they seem to have bought in to that whole sexual fluidity concept, the top brass at Disney will just all suddenly grow a pair, man up, and face the music.
Because there’s no way Brendan Carr is going to let them off the hook, this time.
What do you think?
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