Partners is a 1993 copper statue by Blaine Gibson depicting Walt Disney holding the hand of the most popular character he created, Mickey Mouse. (Photo courtesy of the Walt Disney Company)
BURBANK, Calif. | The annual Walt Disney Company shareholders meeting took on a contentious environment Wednesday as far right anti-trans activists attempted to push through a measure that would force Disney to pay for services for transgender people who choose to detransition.
Anti-trans activist and California resident, 19-year-old Chloe Cole, who opposes gender-affirming care for minors and supports bans on such care following her own detransition and has traveled across the nation testifying in legislative hearings, addressed shareholders.
“Disney pays for gender transition interventions, but not detransitioning care,” Cole said.“ Therefore, the company discriminates based on gender identity, under [government] regulations.”
Los Angeles based journalist Lil Kalish reported that Cole spoke as an advocate for Do No Harm, a group of conservative medical professionals who are skeptical of gender-affirming care, and presented the proposal on behalf of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group that challenges what they see as abuse and corruption in government and business.
Kalish noted that lawmakers in Florida, which is home to the Walt Disney World Resort, recently failed to pass a bill that would force state insurance plans to cover “detransition treatments.” Other states have tried to pass laws that create a private cause of action for patients and families to sue medical facilities.
According to Kalish, the anti-transgender proposal was one of several advanced by far right conservatives. One shareholder proposal targeted the company’s contributions to politicians who support anti-abortion laws and former President Donald Trump’s stolen election claims. Another from the National Center for Public Policy Research, a Disney shareholder, urged the company to disclose its charitable contributions of $5,000 or more and criticized Disney for pursuing “radical gender ideology” by contributing to organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community, such as GLSEN and the Trevor Project.
Ultimately the board rejected these proposals.
During the course of the meeting, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger defeated hedge fund activist investor Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners. The New York Times reported Trian had spent $25 million to get shareholders to vote for its two board candidates. Iger’s victory ended the months-long fighting over the future direction of the entertainment giant.
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