Last Updated on June 26, 2022
A Florida Disney employee has spoken out against the company’s new abortion costs policy. Disney has vowed to pay abortion costs for employees who may need to travel to another state, joining a number of companies in the days following the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe V. Wade.
“Disney knew full well that this memo would be leaked and make national news,” Castillo, who is also a GOP Congressional candidate in Florida’s 9th District, told The New York Post.
“They sent it anyway because Disney wants to make a political statement and attempt, once more, to influence our country’s political process.”
Disney was among the largest companies to speak out against the Supreme Court’s decision, which will return abortion policy to the states. The company vowed to reimburse employees who would need to travel out of state in an internal memo.
.@Disney just sent this email to their employees, assuring them that they will pay for their travel costs to get an abortion pic.twitter.com/XDLGP4CiJD
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 24, 2022
A number of big-name companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Netflix and Uber, have made similar pledges.
Disney has repeatedly waded into the political arena over the past year. The Florida-based company opted to oppose Governor Ron DeSantis on the state’s parental rights in education law, which resulted in the loss of its special tax status Disney had enjoyed for decades.
Prior to the falling out, the company vowed to fund organizations that help “LBGTQ youth” and hired a former Obama official for a PR role. In addition, Disney CEO Bob Chapek called Governor DeSantis in order to voice the company’s disapproval of the law.
“I called Governor DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, nonbinary and transgender kids and families,” the CEO said in March. “The governor heard our concerns and agreed to meet with me and LGBTQ+ members of our senior team in Florida to discuss ways to address them.”
Most recently, the company added a lesbian kiss scene in the “Toy Story” spin-off “Lightyear.” The scene was initially cut, but it was re-added in order to protest Florida’s legislation, which leftist activists have falsely referred to as the “don’t say gay” bill.
“Lightyear” has struggled at the box office, however, and has been banned in a number of countries.
“This is yet another attempt by Disney to take a political stance that will inevitably alienate potential customers,” Castillo said of Disney’s pro-abortion activism.
“As we have seen in recent months Disney’s political activism has hurt the company financially and it is my belief that the Board of Directors is violating its fiduciary duty to shareholders by continuing to comment on divisive political matters,” the Disney employee added.
