Disney Sued for Illegal Discrimination in Casting Rules That Mandate 50 Percent of Characters Must Come From ‘Underrepresented Groups’

The Walt Disney Company is being sued by America First Legal, the conservative legal group led by President Trump’s longtime adviser Stephen Miller, for illegally discriminating on the basis of race and sex in its casting decisions as well as in its internal company practices.The group obtained internal company documents outlining Disney’s “inclusion standards,” which appear to impose racial quotas for its on screen characters, mandating that 50 percent of regular and recurring characters and actors must come from “Underrepresented Groups.” The lawsuit, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, could throw a wrench into Disney’s stated goals to promote diversity among its employees and characters. Disney is on its heels over this issue after several of its big releases struggled in the box office in the last two years, most notably “The Marvels” and “Strange World,” which were both major box office bombs that were criticized for “woke” content and virtue signaling. The depiction of LGBT romance and the casting of actors of color for characters who were originally white, in various films, along with the replacement of the conservative actor Tim Allen with Christ Pratt for “Buzz Lightyear,” which bombed, contributed to a chorus of criticism from Disney fans. Disney even delayed the release of its live action “Snow White” after rumors abounded that Disney was replacing the dwarves with “magical people” and the Latina star playing Snow White, Rachel Zegler, sparked a firestorm when she criticized her character’s traditional values. Disney is being sued by America First Legal, a group founded by President Trump’s adviser, Stephen Miller. Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesIn the face of this criticism, Disney’s chief executive, Bob Iger, said in an interview in November that the company has focused too much on political messaging and not enough on quality storytelling. “We have to entertain first,” he told the New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin. “It’s not about messages.”Now, the House of Mouse is facing legal challenges over its alleged violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination by prohibiting companies from using race, color, religion, sex, or national origin merely as motivating factors for hiring, training, or promotions. These immutable characteristics “are often the only motivating factor in Disney’s hiring, training, and promotion decisions,” AFL argues, adding that “the company is intentionally discriminating against white American men, Christians, and Jews simply because of their race, sex, religion, and citizenship.”Disney’s “Inclusion Standards,” publicized by AFL, mandate that 50 percent or more of its characters and actors come from “Underrepresented Groups.” The same threshold applies to writing staff, production crew, and outside contractors involved in their shows. Disney has recently introduced inclusivity initiatives like “Reimagine Tomorrow,” which seeks to advance “accurate representation in media and entertainment” by “amplifying underrepresented voices and untold stories.” ‘The Marvels’, which boasted an ethnically diverse, mostly female cast, was criticized for political messaging and bombed badly at the box office, a rare miss for Disney’s highly lucrative Marvel studio. DisneyAn internal document leaked by Elon Musk earlier this month describes the company’s broader plan “to increase training and development opportunities for members of underrepresented groups.” The exclusionary manner in which it pursued this mission, AFL alleges, constitutes “illegal race- and sex-based workforce balancing.”Mr. Miller’s legal nonprofit has scored legal victories against the Biden administration. It forced President Biden to abandon its loan forgiveness program for Black farmers after successfully suing the government for what AFL said was a “racist and unconstitutional” program. The AFL’s other initiatives include airing advertisements that criticize Mr. Biden’s policies on LGBTQ rights in an apparent effort to undermine his appeal to various minority groups.

Disney Sued for Illegal Discrimination in Casting Rules That Mandate 50 Percent of Characters Must Come From ‘Underrepresented Groups’

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