Is Elon Musk Planning to Buy ‘Woke’ Disney?

Elon Musk has posted on X the extraordinary list of criteria laid out in Disney’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policy that managers must bear in mind before making an appointment. Is he plotting a takeover to rescue the entertainment company from the woke mind virus, asks the Telegraph.

Recruiting someone who has previously worked on a show is not “inclusive hiring”, the policy states. Half of all producers, writers and contractors must come from underrepresented groups. And recruiters are forbidden from asking candidates about their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, military or veteran status, age, disability – or any other legally protected categories.

The extraordinary policy document – which has been sent to managers on all U.S. and Canadian shows – was released this week not by Disney but by Elon Musk, who claims it was sent to him by an anonymous Disney insider. The owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) has repeatedly slammed DEIs, which have taken over Hollywood in recent years, as being ineffective, counterproductive and tantamount to discrimination, especially against straight, white men.

Taking to X, he posted: “An anonymous source just sent me this from Disney. It is mandatory, institutionalised racism and sexism!”

In further posts, he added: “Here is the full racist, sexist etc. discriminatory set of laws enforced by Disney’s DEI Gestapo. No wonder most of its content produced over the past several years has sucked. Just trying to navigate the DEI minefield is going to crush the creative process! It is mandatory, institutionalised racism and sexism!”

The DEI [policy], which Disney has refused to comment on, is perhaps not that surprising, judging by the company’s output in recent years. The 2022 movie Lightyear saw a gay kiss between two female characters, while black actress Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the 2023 live-action reworking of The Little Mermaid. The company has also been slammed for its woke drive, including giving old characters progressive makeovers and removing offensive imagery from rides and movies. Since March 2022, its theme park staff no longer greet people as “boys and girls” or “ladies and gentleman”, but by using non-gendered terms such as “Hello, everyone” or “Hello, friends”. 

But there is far more to Musk’s criticisms than just his dislike of inclusive hiring and the woke agenda – and it relates chiefly to his insatiable quest for power. At the Los Angeles premiere of Lola on February 3rd, a film starring Brooklyn Beckham’s wife, Nicola Peltz, Musk was stopped by a showbiz reporter. What was the owner of X doing on the red carpet, he was asked. “I’m just, er, here with friends,” he said. “You know, thinking about companies to acquire.”

This might have been dismissed as just another Musk provocation had he not then posed with fellow billionaire Nelson Peltz, 81, the father of Nicola. Peltz – who is thought to be worth $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) and has a significant stake in Disney – has himself made headlines for wanting to “restore the magic” to the company and has been linked to efforts to oust its chief, Bob Iger, 72, who is behind the diversity drive. Peltz reportedly demanded a place on the board within three days of Iger’s reappointment in November 2022, stating he wanted to look out for shareholders’ interest and push Disney to achieve “Netflix-like margins”. 

A year later, in October 2023, it was reported that Peltz had increased his stake to roughly 30 million shares, valued at more than $2.5 billion (£2 billion), through his investment company Trian Partners. The move is designed to create influence to push for single or multiple board seats.

Last month, Musk amplified a post by Trian Partners that highlighted Disney’s underperforming stock. “Brutal track record,” Musk wrote. “Shareholders have been incredibly poorly served by the Disney board!” But so far, Peltz (and Musk’s) interest in gaining a foothold in Disney has been strongly resisted. Instead, the company has routinely defended its board and Iger’s track record. 

Worth reading in full.