As the Trump administration campaigns against diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the media and entertainment sector, FCC chair Brendan Carr has urged the agency’s enforcement arm to open an investigation into Disney and ABC.
Carr, in a letter to Disney chief executive Bob Iger released on Friday, said the probe will relate to whether Disney maintains discriminatory policies through racial quotas, among other things. He cited concerns the entertainment giant and ABC “have been or may still be promoting invidious forms of DEI” in a manner that doesn’t comply with FCC regulations, which bars discrimination on the basis of race or sex.
Related Stories
The move follows Disney earlier this year rolling back some of its DEI efforts in a bid to ensure that it doesn’t wind up in the crosshairs of the government. This included scrubbing references to the “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, which launched in 2021 with the purpose of amplifying underrepresented voices, and employee development programs and fellowships for underrepresented talent.
“Although your company recently made some changes to how it brands certain efforts, it is not clear that the underlying policies have changed in a fundamental manner — nor that past practices complied with relevant FCC regulations,” Carr wrote.
In a statement, a Disney spokesperson said, “We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions.”
The letter points to reports detailing Disney’s efforts to boost diversity in recent years. In at least one account, a company employee detailed the company’s decision to launch “racially-segregated affinity groups and spaces,” Carr says.
Also at issue: mandatory inclusion standards requiring that at last half of regular and recurring characters come from underrepresented groups, as well as executive bonuses tied to meeting DEI goals.
“These standards may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production — demanding that ‘50% or more’ or writers, directors, crew and vendors be selected based on group identity,” the letter states.
That policy was targeted last year in a letter sent to Disney’s top brass by America First Legal Foundation, a conservative group founded by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. It claimed that Disney maintains discriminatory hiring quotas, among other things that it said violate civil rights laws.
For ABC, Carr says that the network’s employment of race-based hiring databases and its decision to restrict fellowships to select groups may violate FCC rules.
If an investigation is greenlit, Disney would become the latest of several companies across media and entertainment to be probed by the FCC. They include Paramount Global, whose pending merger with Skydance is being reviewed by the agency, over its handling of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris and Comcast, which was also accused by the FCC of maintaining illegal DEI policies.
During his tenure as FCC chair, Carr has threatened to revoke broadcast licenses for stations owned by networks that’ve drawn the president’s ire under the agency’s authority to ensure that public airwaves operate in the public interest.
