Recently, Musk has been vocal on X platform, openly critiquing Disney's inclusion standards. His candid remarks have stirred up speculation among many that he might be considering a move to acquire the entertainment giant.
An anonymous source just sent me this from Disney. It is mandatory, institutionalized racism and sexism! pic.twitter.com/npMy8YfA1j
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2024
From Telegraph UK:
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.”
