Disney shareholders reject anti-LGTBQ and climate change proposals
In a rebuke against Florida’s anti-woke and anti-DEI legislation, Disney shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a conservative group’s push for Disney to withdraw from an LGBTQ rights organization’s corporate ratings.
Disney shareholders also nixed another shareholder proposal urging Disney to examine its investments in the fight against climate change.
The two politically loaded shareholder proposals were voted down during Thursday’s annual company shareholders meeting. The counted election results were not immediately available after the meeting.
The National Center for Public Policy Research, which describes itself as “the original and premier opponent of the woke takeover of American corporate life,” took aim at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index, where Disney had gotten a “perfect score” since 2007.
In the 2025 addition, the Human Rights Campaign gave Disney high scores for offering benefits for same-sex couples, doing LGBTQ outreach and providing training on inclusive culture.
“Disney disastrously engaged in such activism when it inserted itself in the middle of a divisive public debate over the Parental Rights in Education Act,” according to the shareholder proposal. “Consequently, Disney stock fell 44% in 2022 – its worst performance in 50 years – amid putting this divisive agenda ahead of parental rights and political neutrality.”
The shareholder proposal brought up the fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney over the 2022 law dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” The feud escalated when the state passed several laws targeting Disney World’s government in its special district and the monorail inspections, although the two sides are at peace these days.
“The Human Rights Campaign acts as a kind of Mafia, forcing companies to embrace gender ideology in exchange for a high rating in the Corporate Equality Index,” said Stefan Padfield, the center’s executive director.
He urged shareholders to vote for Disney to stop participating because he said it was bad for business.
Ultimately, shareholders rejected his bid and supported the company, which argued in response, “Given the Company’s existing practices to assess participation in transparency efforts and the Board’s oversight of ESG reporting, workforce equity matters and human rights policies, we do not believe this proposal would provide additional value to shareholders.”
Shareholder activist James McRitchie also warned Disney heavily invests employees’ retirement plans in companies that are high carbon or are cutting down trees. Disney’s portfolios are at risk financially, and so is its reputation since the company’s “mission to inspire young people around the world.”
“Disney knows we must address climate risk head-on,” he said.
Climate change affects the castle at home, too.
With Florida’s rising temperatures, Disney World firefighters are regularly responding to 911 calls for visitors suffering heat-related illnesses, according to Florida Politics reporting.
McRitchie, who spoke on behalf of the nonprofit As You Sow, asked shareholders to require Disney to write a report about how the company protects retirement plan beneficiaries from climate change.
Disney wanted shareholders to reject it because it argued the company’s investments are diverse and the report would not be a “valuable use of Company time and resources, nor enhance long-term shareholder value.”