Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who’s company Trian Fund Management owns about $3 billion worth of Disney (DIS) stock, believes that the messaging in Disney movies have become too “woke,” according to a recent interview with the Financial Times. He also believes that messaging in Disney’s movies and TV shows isn’t the main reason why people choose to watch them.
“People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained,” he told the Financial Times. “They don’t go to get a message.”
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Peltz also claimed in the interview that he “wasn’t that crazy” about Disney’s recent movies “The Marvels” and Black Panther,” which both appear to represent Disney’s push towards diversity, equity, and inclusion as they represent large female and Black audiences respectively.
“Why do I have to have a Marvel that’s all women?” he said. “Not that I hiave anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?”
(Black Panther is Marvel's sixth-highest grossing film of all-time, with the original and the sequel combining to bring in over $2.1 billion during their theatrical releases).
Peltz’s comments come after Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an earnings call last month that Marvel’s film studio “lost a little focus” due to it prioritizing quantity over quality regarding its recent movie releases.
Peltz has been in a proxy battle for a seat on Disney’s board of directors for over a year, and the fight has been tensing up over the past few months. Trian Fund Management first announced in January last year that Peltz, its CEO, is seeking a seat on Disney’s board because he believes that the company is “in crisis.” Days after the announcement, Disney pushed shareholders to not elect Peltz due to his lack of skills and experience in media.
In October, Marvel Chair Ike Perlmutter gave Peltz voting rights of his 25 million Disney shares. As a result, Trian Fund Management’s stake in Disney increased to 33 million shares, which is worth about $3 billion.
A month later, Peltz requested to have three seats on Disney’s board, and in December, he nominated himself and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo to the board (nominations that Disney later rejected) and is currently trying to convince shareholders of their election.
In a campaign launched by Trian Fund Management called “Restore the Magic,” Peltz’s company claims that “Disney has lost its way over the past decade” and that “the root cause of Disney’s underperformance is a Board that lacks focus, alignment, and accountability.”
In the recent interview with The Financial Times, Peltz also claimed that he is not trying to fire Disney’s CEO, contrary to popular belief, which has been previously suggested by the company itself.
“Disney is stupid because I’m not trying to fire [chief executive] Bob Iger, I want to help him,” he said. “We don’t fire CEOs.”
The proxy battle is expected to come to a head on April 3 during Disney’s annual shareholder’s meeting where investors will vote on who will take a seat on the board.
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