Disney tones down disclaimers on ‘problematic’ classics as US companies drop diversity
Feb 13, 2025, updated Feb 13, 2025
Disney has become the latest major organisation to roll back its diversity measures following Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.
Content disclaimers shown ahead of a host of classic Disney movies – including Peter Pan and Dumbo – will be altered to tone down their language.
The previous disclaimers played before the older, ‘problematic’ titles said the film “includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures”.
The new disclaimers will state: “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”
Other rollbacks of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures, as first reported by Axios, include replacing its “Diversity & Inclusion” performance factor used to evaluate executive pay with a new “Talent Strategy”.
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It will also close its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative and website that highlights stories and talent from underrepresented communities.
Disney first added content warnings to older movies like Dumbo in November 2019 due to racist depictions included in some films created by the studio during the 1940s and 1950s.
The 2019 warning stated that: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
That disclaimer was strengthened a year later to the lengthy:
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“This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together. Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”
Some stereotypes depicted in older Disney moves are no longer acceptable. Photo: Disney
Disney’s chief human resources officer Sonia Coleman outlined the diversity changes in a memo to company leadership on Wednesday Australian time.
“Creating a welcoming and respectful environment for our employees and guests is core to our company culture and our business,” Coleman said.
“Our values — integrity, creativity, collaboration, community, inclusion — guide our actions and how we treat each other,” she added.
Coleman said the changes represent “an evolution of important concepts in the former Diversity & Inclusion OPF (Other Performance Factors) and will be used alongside our other two OPFs, ‘Storytelling & Creativity’ and ‘Synergy’.”
Dropping DEI policies was high on the agenda for Republicans when Trump regained office.
Shortly after his January 20 inauguration, Trump signed an executive order targeting DEI programs in government departments.
His order followed a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that US universities could not explicitly consider an applicant’s race when allocating student admissions.
Along with Disney, a host of major US-based companies have rolled back their DEI initiatives in the past few months, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Boeing, Ford, McDonald’s, Goldman Sachs and Harley-Davidson.