Disney's 'stunning' financial statements show company has risked profits for woke politics: Ted Cruz
The Walt Disney Company's latest financial statements are a "stunning" disclosure to its investors that they've prioritized politics over "making the business successful," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, claimed on his "Verdict" podcast this week.
In its annual SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) report, the House of Mouse seemed to acknowledge that its focus on cultural and social issues has had an impact of profits.
Disney told investors that the company's revenues and profits "are adversely impacted when our entertainment offerings and products, as well as our methods to make our offerings and products available to consumers, do not achieve sufficient consumer acceptance. Further, consumers’ perceptions of our positions on matters of public interest, including our efforts to achieve certain of our environmental and social goals, often differ widely, and present risks to our reputation and brands."
"Now, that is one of the most stunning corporate disclosures I've ever read," the Republican senator marveled on the podcast. "Because what that means, is number one, Disney has lost billions of dollars. The phrase, ‘go woke, go broke,’ Disney has sadly embodied that phrase. I am sure Walt Disney is spinning in his grave at horrors to as what has happened to his namesake," he remarked.
Cruz claimed that Disney was protecting itself from investors suing the company for not being transparent about the impact these priorities had made on the company's finances.
"But the fact that they put this in their SEC disclosures means, number one, the money they're losing is so significant. Number two, their projections for future money that they're going to lose are so significant that their lawyer said, ‘Dammit, you have to acknowledge this in the disclosure or else you will be sued for misleading investors,'" he said.
"In other words, we must write these words so that when investors sue us and say your executives are putting your woke politics ahead of profitability, ahead of producing entertainment that consumers want, ahead of actually producing family-friendly entertainment that kids are interested in, and parents want their kids to see. That your politics matters more to you than making the business successful. They want to be able to point to this disclosure and say, 'No, no, sorry, you invested, and we told you up front. We don't care about making a buck. Our politics is all we care about. And even if it flushes the corporate profits down the commode,'" he argued.
Disney made headlines with its battles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his legislation critics derided as "Don't Say Gay." The company has taken some criticism from conservatives over "diversity casting" and LGBTQ themes in some of its recent films and reboots. CEO Bob Iger said last year at a town hall that his goal was to quell controversy for the good of the company.
Cruz told Fox News Digital that Disney has "learned the hard way that actions have consequences."
WOKE DISNEY’S YEAR OF ENDURING BOX OFFICE BOMBS, SUBSCRIBER LOSSES AND LAYOFFS
"Disney habitually wades into culture wars whether or not it adversely impacts their financial wellbeing, and I cover this extensively in my new, bestselling book, ‘Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America,'" the senator relayed in a statement.
"As Disney has alienated parents, they have predictably shrunk their audience and lost revenue. Disney has just learned the hard way that actions have consequences. If they keep trying to indoctrinate children with their woke leftist ideology, their numbers will continue to decline," he added.
Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor, also found that Disney is admitting that "its controversial political and social agenda is costing the company and shareholders," with this filing.
Forbes reported that Disney spent close to $1 billion on four of its big-budget streaming and theatrical releases that flopped earlier this year.
Disney's latest theatrical release, "Wish," fell short of expectations at the box office Thanksgiving weekend, following a year-long pattern of box office fizzles for the company celebrating its 100th year of movie-making.
Disney didn't immediately return a request for comment.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.