Has Bob Iger’s return to the helm at Disney signaled a retreat from their corporate activism? Initially, we had plenty of reasons to remain skeptical of that idea, mainly from Iger himself, who publicly backed former CEO Bob Chapek’s fight against Florida over the Parental Rights in Education bill. On the other hand, as Tom Jackson argued in a recent VIP column, Iger has an opportunity to mend some fences before the worst of the blowback takes effect — the loss of their special tax-district carveout in Orlando, which becomes official next summer.

That may well have driven Iger’s recent we-a culpa declarations at his first “town hall” meeting with Disney employees. Christopher Rufo got some video of Iger’s remarks in the open forum, in which Iger expresses regret for how much bad blood with Florida got spilled, and how Disney failed to respect its customers along with its employees.

Sound retreat:

I have obtained exclusive video of Iger’s first townhall meeting with Disney employees, in which he retreats from the company’s most controversial political positions and moves toward neutrality in the culture war.

In response to an audience question about the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, Iger said the company would still promote “inclusion,” but signaled that he would adopt a different posture than his processor and suggested that the company will “listen to [its] audience” and “have respect for the people that [it’s] serving.”

Iger also suggested that the company made a mistake in its fight against Governor DeSantis, which resulted in the state legislature stripping Disney of its special administrative status. “I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle,” he said. “The State of Florida has been important to us for a long time. And we have been very important to the State of Florida. That is something I’m extremely mindful of and will articulate if I get the chance.”

Disney “got dragged into that battle”? Ahem. Disney jumped in with both feet and created much of the battle itself, mainly to pander to its most progressive employees, Ron DeSantis remarked later. Speaking with Tucker Carlson, DeSantis reminded everyone about the order of the “Don’t Say Gay” battle, and the proper lessons to be learned from it (via the Daily Wire):

Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts to recent comments from Disney CEO Bob Iger: "They brought this on themselves." pic.twitter.com/t6CC6ieEM3

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 30, 2022

DESANTIS: We didn’t drag them in, Tucker. They went in on their own, and not only opposed the bill. They threatened to get it repealed.

These are parents’ rights, important policies in our state that are very popular. And so they brought this on themselves.

CARLSON: Yes.

DESANTIS: All we did was stand up for what’s right. And, yes, they’re a big, powerful company. But you know what? We stand up for our folks. And I don’t care what a Burbank-based California company says about our laws.

This may be a question of whom Iger believes did the dragging. Chapek went out of his way to pick the fight, but only after taking heat from employees for not engaging on the parental-rights legislation. Iger egged him on at the time, declaring that Disney had to get involved in issues of “right and wrong,” also pandering to the same activist employees. Don’t forget that Iger and Chapek had already begun competing for power within Disney at the time, which inevitably led to the Iger Sanction this month.

DeSantis rightfully scoffs at the idea that the company overall got passive-voiced into a political fight, but Iger may not have had DeSantis in mind for that comment. And Iger may have had a good opening to underscore that point about activist employees. Rufo notes that the town hall participants made a point about other “cast members” (Disney’s designation for employees) wanting to stay out of politics at work. Iger promised to be responsive to that desire, and less so to the activists in the future:

Finally, in response to the suggestion that “many cast members had wished that Disney stayed out of politics,” Iger expressed regret. “Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not,” he said. “It can be distracting, and it can have a negative impact on the company. And to the extent that I can work to kind of quiet things down, I’m going to do that.”

That certainly looks like a retreat. It also looks like the beginning of a campaign to get the Florida legislature to reverse the repeal of its special tax district in Orlando for its theme parks. My friend Tom Jackson’s bet on optimism may well pay off in the end, at least locally.

Next up, though, is to see whether Disney learns its lesson on activism more broadly. The massive flop of its woke-indoctrination film Strange World will cost Disney a fortune, so a lesson or two would at least make the pain a bit more meaningful.