Peter Rice, the chairman of General Entertainment Content for Disney who spoke out against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Parental Rights in Education” law, has been ousted from his position, according to Deadline.
Rice, who has worked at Disney since 2019, in late March told The Hollywood Reporter he saw the law as a “violation of fundamental human rights.”
Dana Walden, chair of Entertainment for Disney TV, will replace him, according to the news outlet.
Deadline suggests the move could have happened because Rice was “high in the rumor mill” as a potential replacement for Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who got a vote of confidence from the Disney board Thursday morning.
“The strength of The Walt Disney Company’s businesses coming out of the pandemic is a testament to Bob’s leadership and vision for the company’s future,” Chair Susan Arnold said in a statement. “In this important time of business growth and transformation, we are committed to keeping Disney on the successful path it is on today, and Bob and his leadership team have the support and confidence of the board.”
One source told Deadline he was shocked by Rice’s ouster.
“Peter Rice is one of the best executives in town, and I can’t imagine why Chapek would do this, other than feeling threatened by all the rumor of Peter and Kareem being people who could take his job,” said one prominent source shocked and disappointed by the move. “There’s no cause. This is a big, big loss for the Walt Disney Company.”
Chapek has faced criticism over Disney’s response to the parental rights bill, which prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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