Bob Chapek blames Bob Iger for making Disney’s fight with Florida worse. In his new memoir, Behind the Castle Walls, the former chief executive writes that Iger’s 2022 tweet opposing the state’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known to critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” undercut his effort to soften the bill behind the scenes.
“That tweet made my job all the harder getting the Florida legislature to soften the bill,” Chapek writes, according to Variety, which obtained an advance copy. “Instead, Governor DeSantis and his allies became even more entrenched.”
His Side Of The Florida Fight
Chapek writes that while he and the board were discussing how to respond, Iger posted his support for President Biden’s criticism of the bill. Chapek says he had wanted Disney to work “behind the scenes” with DeSantis and legislators instead of denouncing the bill in public, and that he “believed we should stop short of making a political statement that could be misrepresented by the press, or by either side of the argument.”
That position collapsed within days. Chapek apologized to employees, and critics called him weak for reversing course in about 48 hours. DeSantis then labeled Disney a “woke corporation,” and a long legal battle with the state followed, one that ended with DeSantis appointees running the district around Walt Disney World that has since brought back the Disney passes it once called akin to bribes. Chapek writes that Iger “receded into the background” once the fight began, even though his tweet “had sparked the firestorm.”
Annual Pass Losses He Calls A Win
Chapek also stands by the annual pass changes he made while running the parks. He writes that Disneyland had 1.1 million passholders when he announced the first round of price increases, and that the number fell to one million afterward while revenue went up. “I considered that a huge win,” he writes.
He points out that one of Iger’s first comments after returning in November 2022 was that Disney may have been “a little bit too aggressive” on pricing. “In reality, over the following two years, he increased prices a number of times,” Chapek writes.
A Defense Of The Return Of Jafar
The book reaches back to Chapek’s years in Disney’s home video division, where he pushed for The Return of Jafar, the 1994 direct-to-video Aladdin sequel. Critics panned it, and Chapek writes that Pixar’s John Lasseter called it “terrible.” He says it still reached nearly $300 million in sales.
Chapek also recalls Iger telling him years earlier that the rule “no one is bigger than the company” might apply to other CEOs, but “I like to think that I’m a little different.” Iger is mentioned 121 times in the 272-page book.
Representatives for Disney and Iger declined to comment. Behind the Castle Walls is published by Gallery Books on September 29. The first excerpts had Chapek taking credit for Josh D’Amaro’s rise and blaming Iger for his firing.
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