By David Bauder
President Donald Trump’s FCC commissioner said on Friday he would begin an investigation into Walt Disney Co. and its ABC TV network to see if it “promotes a mysterious form of dei discrimination.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Kerr announced the investigation in a letter to Disney CEO Robert Iger on Friday. The company said it looks forward to reviewing the letter and answering committee questions.
The new administration has taken an offensive stance towards the media in several ways. Just this week there was a court hearing on the US voice closure and the presidential dispute with the Associated Press about how communications agencies refer to the Gulf of Mexico.
Kerr has pushed the Federal Communications Commission into the activist role since Trump appointed him as his leader. For example, the FCC is currently publicly available on ABC, CBS and NBC News.
“For decades, Disney has focused on box office revenue and programming success,” Kerr wrote to Iger. “But something has changed since then. Disney is now caught up in a round of controversy over that Day’s policy.”
He has seen reports that Disney has rewind some of its practices, but said “significant concerns remain.”
Last month, Axios reported that Disney made several policy changes, including removing websites designed to highlight character and stories from underrated communities.
Disney also softened the messages that appeared before shows in movies like “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan,” Axios said. Instead of warning that the film contains “negative portrayals and abuses of people and cultures,” the message was changed to “the program was presented exactly as it was originally created and could contain stereotypical or negative portrayals.”
Carr’s letter is linked to an article by conservative activist Christopher Loufo, who describes Disney as “the most frightening place on the planet.”
Some examples cited several years ago, including one-off policies in ABC from groups where at least 50% of the characters in TV pilots are underrated. The letter cited a statement by Disney Executives in 2021, saying it rejected some TV pilots because it didn’t meet inclusion criteria.
Trump targets all kinds of DEIs for diversity, equity and inclusion.
“In my direction, the FCC is already taking action to end the promotion of DEI,” writes Carr. “We are pleased that some regulated companies are taking steps to eradicate discriminatory DEI policies already.”
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment on the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
Original issue: March 30th, 2025 8am Edt
