Disney “must be saved from itself,” says Abigail Disney

At the very heart of the heir’s concerns is the gulf between what the C-suite gets paid for and what the thousands of Disney castmembers get paid on time and at low levels: top reward for lowering the pay down. ”

Over the past few years, Abigail Disney has made no secret of her concerns about The Walt Disney Co.’s corporate policies, criticizing its executive compensation practices and its treatment of lower-level employees.

Unlike most of the company’s shareholders, however, Disney has a personal connection to the entertainment giant, co-founded by his grandfather, Roy O. Disney, Walt’s brother.

In an interview with The Hollywood ReporterKim Masters Editor-in-Chief on KCRW Deals podcast, the Emmy-winning director says that Disney’s C-suite revenue and the novel coronavirus pandemic have only exacerbated her concerns about the company’s future.

“I don’t think business and magic can survive this kind of corporate behavior, I don’t think the brand, as strong as it is, will last,” says Disney. “And it’s the kind of brand that’s so huge and all-encompassing and people invest so much in it, I don’t think it will slowly erode away, it will fall like a big redwood… I’m kinda on backing it up.” long-term business. I think the business must be saved from itself.

At the very heart of Disney’s concerns is the gulf between what the C-suite gets paid for and what the thousands of low-level, hourly Disney castmembers get paid.

“High pay and high at the top tends to be a reward for lowering pay down,” she tells Masters. “When I try to draw a direct line between the way the C-suite is paid and the way hourly workers are paid, when I try to draw a direct line between some of these things, I think they look at me like I’m talking. kind of foreign language, because to them it’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard. For them, there is no relationship between what we pay a worker or a shift worker and what we pay Bob Iger.

The pandemic has made those differences even more glaring, with the company laying off tens of thousands of employees as several of its theme parks remain closed.

“Do not pretend that [employees that get laid off] to go somewhere and disappear; they are losing their homes, they are homeless and they have to steal food, ”she said.

To hear Abigail Disney explain it, there’s also a tussle between the creativity that built the company’s brand and a corporate ideology defined by best practices from business schools. And that has changed in recent decades to drive down workers’ wages at the same time that executives see their pay skyrocket.

“My grandfather was making a lot of money, and he provided for my needs and my children of course, he didn’t hesitate to accept compensation,” says Disney. “I’m not talking about property, I’m saying you’re willing to hand over everything you have over and over and over again, every time, with the chance of losing it all, because that’s what my grandfather has fact… He would never have taken a $ 66 million salary, ever. And not because he was a perfect guy, but because it wasn’t done, it wasn’t done.

Disney was also surprised by the management reshuffle this year, with Bob Iger handing over the CEO title to Bob Chapek in February.

“There’s no question it’s confusing, there’s probably something to be aware of that it was confusing because it doesn’t do it that way,” says Disney. “[Iger] He’s a nice man and a great manager, I have nothing personal against him, but his strategy from day one was to buy Pixar, buy Lucasfilm, he was a creative buyer who added and added to the machine.

Chapek’s appointment has only sharpened his criticism.

“It was extremely disappointing to see someone who has never had a creative job in their life taking over the business,” Disney added. “It’s just a business, it’s deli, they sell salami, and they slice it as thin as they can slice it, because they don’t make salami anymore.

And while some are hopeful that a Biden administration might seek to reverse some of the business-friendly policies instituted by the Trump administration, Disney is still not convinced.

“Let’s not forget that Joe Biden was the senator from Delaware, where 90% of the companies are based, and Bob Iger is a big Democratic supporter and has been considering running for president of the same party,” says Disney.

Iger, it turns out, is in the mix to become Biden’s ambassador to China or the UK