A former high-ranking Marvel executive claims ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek refused to give him a promotion because he was just “another old white guy,” according to a blockbuster lawsuit against the media giant.
Robert Steffens, who served as chief financial officer and then co-president of Marvel from 2015 to 2023, alleged that then-Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter told him in February 2022 that Disney CEO Bob Chapek put the kibosh on his bid for the role of president of Disney consumer products, according to the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday.
Instead, the job was given to a woman of “ambiguous ethnicity” after Perlmutter allegedly told Steffens that the company couldn’t award the position to “another old white guy,” the complaint said.
Chapek was ousted later in 2022 after getting the House of Mouse embroiled in a battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law — and replaced by Bob Iger.
Steffens’ lawsuit claimed that the “woke” media giant was engaged in an “official effort to promote vice presidents based on their race and a memorandum that would have referred to employees with the racial signifier ‘BIPOC’ [black, indigenous and people of color].”
Disney’s actions were “willful, wanton, malicious, intentional, oppressive and despicable and were done in willful and conscious disregard of the rights, welfare and safety of [Steffens],” the lawsuit said.
“Our primary focus is on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend our client’s interests,” Steffens attorney Marcella Burke told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
Perlmutter was fired by Iger in March 2023. The Disney boss survived a proxy fight last year spearheaded by Perlmutter and activist investor Nelson Peltz.
The lawsuit comes as Disney ditches some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies amid pressure from activist investors and the Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI.
On Monday, Disney shut down its “Reimagine Tomorrow” program, which was used to highlight stories and talent from underrepresented communities. The initiative promised 50% of regular and recurring characters across the Disney universe would come from “underrepresented groups.”
It also quietly rolled back other DEI programs this week.
The Reimagine Tomorrow program sparked outrage in 2022 when a company-wide Zoom call was leaked on social media.
At the time, one Disney executive touted her “not at all secret gay agenda,” while another boasted that the company was scrubbing the words “ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls” at its theme parks to avoid alienating transgender children.
President Trump recently ordered an end to DEI in the federal government and for its contractors, which includes many private companies.
Meanwhile, companies are also under pressure from conservative critics who say DEI programs are discriminatory against non-minorities.
Companies such as Meta and John Deere have rolled back their DEI programs, while others like Apple and Costco have pushed back. Google, GM, Intel, Pepsi, Comcast, Philip Morris and others have softened or deleted their DEI language.
The DEI battle is also being fought in the courtroom.
Last week, Target was hit with a class-action suit after shareholders alleged the retail giant misled investors about the risks of its DEI initiatives, which led consumers to boycott and its stock price to tank.
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