Disney And ABC Under FCC Investigation For Alleged DEI Practices

According to Variety, living up to his previous threats, the Chairman and senior Republican of the FCC, Brendan Carr, has asked its Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney and ABC over their DEI practices. This will be the latest installment into the ongoing conflict over diversity, equity, and inclusion in America.

During the 2024 presidential election, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigned on eradicating both public and private diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. President Trump’s approval ratings remain shockingly high in many categories, yet when it comes to DEI, America remains as divided as ever. A recent poll by NBC of 1,000 U.S. voters found that 49% support the elimination of DEI programs in the workplace due to the policies’ creation of “division and inefficiencies.” Similarly, 48% were found to support the continuation of said polices in favor of “unity and inclusivity.”

With his intention on sticking to his guns, Carr took to the social media platform X on Friday to clarify. “While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI. I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination.”

Reporting to Variety, a Disney spokesperson had this to say: “We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions.”

Seemingly, in an attempt to conform to the new administration’s anti-DEI efforts, Disney recently scaled back its own policies. This led to the shuttering of its initiative intended to promote stories from underrepresented communities dubbed “Reimagine Tomorrow.”

Per Variety, letter sent to Disney CEO Bob Igar by the FCC Chairman read, “While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain. For one, I want to ensure that Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name. For another, I want to determine whether Disney’s actions — whether ongoing or recently ended — complied at all times with applicable FCC regulations.”

In similar fashion, Carr also references a previous report from Variety. In 2020, they reported that ABC Entertainment mandated “inclusion standards” that would see an inclusion of “underrepresented groups” in regular and recurring characters on their TV shows. He supposes that policy “may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production — demanding that ‘50% or more’ of writers, directors, crew and vendors be selected based on group identity.”

Carr goes on to criticize Disney in the letter: “As I have made clear, promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law. Doing so only deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law.” He continues to praise the companies he believes have taken the proper steps to root out these discriminatory policies.

Referencing Carr’s directive to investigate DEI policies at Comcast and NBCUniversal, Variety goes on to highlight his hunt for policies that “promote invidious forms of DEI that do not comply with FCC regulations & civil rights laws.” In response, Comcast claims, “For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers.”

In an article by Bloomberg, Carr gives a show of strength by threatening to block any merger and acquisition transactions by companies that promote DEI.

This isn’t the first blow to the media giant by the Trump administration. Last year, Trump sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos (Good Morning America, This Week) for libel. Stephanopoulos claimed on air that Trump had been found liable for rape. In a battle of semantics, Disney and ABC agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying $15 million towards a Trump presidential foundation as it was sexual abuse and defamation he was found liable of, not rape.