Hollywood was a hotbed of resistance against Donald Trump during his first term, but this time around the mood is more defensive than rebellious.
Film studios, music labels and talent agencies have seen nervous debate about how to protect a creative, diverse workforce while eschewing the rage of the Trump administration, which decided to boost policies designed to promote inclusion. there is.
“Employees are definitely scary,” said an executive at a major Hollywood company, adding that workers are wondering whether employers are committed to “being on the values.”
Disney, the world’s largest traditional media company, did not wait for the Trump administration to ask them to adapt its policies. The company last week removed “diversity and inclusion” as executive performance metrics, the first shift by a large US entertainment conglomerate since Trump returned to the White House.
Labeled by conservative critics as “Woke Disney,” the company addresses US presidents who are at war on diversity, equity and inclusion, and employees who tend to lean left politically. It appeared to be walking along fine lines between the US presidents.
In a complex internal note sent by Disney’s HR department, the company said it had removed DEI as a “performance factor” but identified “inclusion” as one of its core corporate values.
Disney’s memo came days before Trump’s Federal Communications Commission began investigating Comcast, the owner of NBC and Universal Film Studios.
In a harsh letter, FCC Chair Brendan Kerr said the investigation aims to discover whether Comcast’s DEI efforts “promote mysterious forms of discrimination.” The letter, addressed to Comcast’s CEO, Brian Roberts, used the term “Invidious” five times and called Dei Initiatives “Scourge.”
The Comcast corporate website contains DEI pages that publicly declare their commitment to diversity. It was topped on Friday in a blog post about the studio’s efforts to create “accessible” sets for disabled actors in the evil movie.
Victor Picard, a professor at the Annenberg correspondence school at the University of Pennsylvania, said the FCC had been politicized in the past, but recent moves by Kerr suggest “an unprecedented kind of regulatory capture.” .
“He’s clearly carrying water for President Trump’s agenda to bring media companies to his heels,” Picard said.
Some US media groups told the Financial Times by speaking anonymously that they would remove the term “Dei” if DEI’s efforts were left intact.
“We’re still thinking about diversity in the workforce. For us, it’s a commercial order. Well, we say, “Here’s our 10 DEI commitments,” and who Do you call them DEI commitments, as Moo did? Probably not,” said the senior music executive.
“I think a lot of media companies will say. No, we’re going to continue doing what we’re doing, but we’re not going to call it a DEI,” the executive continued. “Because you created this shit swirl around that term.”
Hollywood executives said Dei is “used as a slur,” but that diversity remains essential to the creative industry in ways that may not apply to other businesses.
“We focus on creativity and storytelling, so doing it in an effective way requires a background of different thoughts, creative innovation and inspiration,” the executive said. . “So I think we’ll straighten us into a different position than other organizations.”
Trump, a reality television star before running for president, has always been a media stubborn man. He has been fighting a trade war in recent weeks, annexing Canada and destroying government agencies, but has made it a priority to attack television groups and set a coup with Washington’s prestigious Kennedy Performing Arts Center. did.
Last week, Trump took over the Kennedy Center board of directors to showcase the “golden age of American art and culture” and posted online ensuring there is no more “anti-American propaganda.” Hollywood producer Shonda Rhymes has resigned from the board.
For media groups where hostile presidents are coming at a moment of vulnerability, including the threats to business, the pandemic, the shift to streaming, the workforce and now artificial intelligence.
“If you’re a media company, it’s difficult right now. You’re really, really hard,” said the music executive. “Some businesses have come to places we feel sorry for, if that’s the case, so maybe we should just say less.”
Disney’s move this week, albeit subtle, made noise among some employees and entertainment observers. Ankler’s editor-in-chief Richard Rushfield wrote Thursday: “We’re not in that we have script approval for every project Steve Bannon filmed in Hollywood, but we’re not a million miles away from that.”
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Netflix and Spotify did not respond to requests for comment. Warner Bros Discovery and Comcast declined to comment, but Paramount did not return a call to comment.
The key question is whether others follow Disney’s lead or are they rebelling against the Trump administration?
“Hollywood represents something very progressive. The progressive forces in America are totally confused as to what to do next,” the music executive said.
“It just makes sure Hollywood doesn’t get crushed at this moment.”
