Disney CEO responds to claims of conservative ‘black list’

The CEO of The Walt Disney Company has dismissed claims the entertainment giant has a “black list” for conservatives.

Claims of a so-called cancel culture within the entertainment industry resurfaced last month after it emerged the actress Gina Carano had left her role on Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian.

LucasFilm said she was responsible for “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts.

Carano had compared the treatment of those with conservative viewpoints to the persecution of Jewish people by the Nazis.

Disney faced accusations of hypocrisy after it emerged Pedro Pascal, titular star of The Mandalorian, had also used the Holocaust to make a political point but kept his job.

In 2018 he reportedly compared children in cages at America’s southern border to Jews in concentration camps.

Disney chief Bob Chapek addressed the issue of political bias during an annual shareholder meeting and said the company is not “left-leaning or right-leaning”.

Instead, Mr Chapek said, it stands “for values that are universal: Values of respect, values of decency, values of integrity and values of inclusion”.

He added: “And we seek to have not only how we operate but the content that we make reflective of the rich diversity of the world that we live in. And I think that’s a world that we all should live in, in harmony and peace.”

Former MMA star Carano, 38, was a fan favourite on The Mandalorian and played the all-action warrior Cara Dune.

Some fans of the franchise had called for her to be dismissed from the show for her social media posts and the hashtag #FireGinaCarano had trended.

Carano has since announced she is working on a new film project with conservative media company The Daily Wire.

Mr Chapek also revealed the Disney+ streaming service has surpassed 100 million global paid subscribers, just 16 months since it launched.

Netflix, its chief rival, had more than 203 million subscribers as of January.