LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Walt Disney Co is pausing all political donations in Florida after employee outcry over legislation that would limit discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools, Chief Executive Bob Chapek said in a memo to employees on Friday.
Disney has been criticized for failing to take a public stand against the measure, which opponents of the legislation say will harm the lesbian, gay, transgender and queer community. The company employs more than 65,000 people at the sprawling Walt Disney World resort in Orlando.
“Speaking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you have helped me better understand how painful our silence was,” Chapek wrote. “It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”
Chapek pledged to increase support for advocacy groups to combat similar legislation in other states. It also is re-examining its political giving.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
