“You cannot fix this with educational seminars or token background characters - even organizations like HRC refuse your money until action is taken.” “Those statements have indicated that leadership still does not truly understand the impact this legislation is having not only on Cast Members in the state of Florida, but on all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the company and beyond,” the letter reads. In an open letter published to, a website created by a number of the staffers who organized the Disney Do Better Walkout, the employees expressed their appreciation for Chapek’s apology but took to task how Disney has “ utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation.” (Emphasis theirs.)
In response to Disney’s actions and Chapek’s emails, a number of Disney employees are now planning to stage a week of virtual 15-minutes walkouts beginning this afternoon, culminating in a day-long walkout on March 22nd. In the eyes of many of Disney’s queer employees, those steps are simply not enough, and now they’re taking action to make that point as clear as they can to the company’s leadership. In the days since The Walt Disney Company first came under fire for giving money to the politicians behind Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, CEO Bob Chapek has apologized for initially having nothing to say, and he subsequently announced the corporation’s plans to “pause” its political donations in Florida for an undetermined amount of time.