WSJ: Disney Attack Has Chilled Speech By Other CEOs

The Wall Street Journal reports:

In private meetings and coaching sessions over the past few weeks, top business leaders have been asking a version of the same question: How can we avoid becoming the next Walt Disney Co.? The fallout from the recent political spat between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has alarmed leaders across the corporate sphere, according to executives and their advisers, and heightened the challenges for chief executive officers navigating charged topics.

At many companies, vocal employees have in recent years pushed bosses to take public stands on social and political issues. Florida’s pushback against Disney has raised the stakes. Certainly the consequences of weighing in appear to be changing. Lawmakers for years have expressed displeasure when companies take public stands on issues such as voting access, through critical tweets, public remarks and, in some cases, calls for public boycotts.

Read the full article.

The tweet below is from a Fox Business reporter.

My sources in DC say if GOP takes Congress being a woke CEO will mean hours of hearing testimony— Disney’s clash with Ron DeSantis shows new pushback toward companies speaking out on social issues. https://t.co/EbTR9l4sse

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) May 1, 2022