Bob Igor is Disney’s CEO. He was CEO for fifteen years before stepping down in late 2021, then he returned as CEO in November 2022. Iger’s reclaiming of the CEO’s desk came with a $15 million pay package, with bonus targets for up to $27 million for just 2023. Iger’s return was supposed to be a temporary thing, a bridge to help Disney find a more modern (and younger) CEO. Instead, just a few days ago, Disney announced that Iger was staying on until 2026, presumably under a comparable salary and compensation package which would see him making (again) around $27 million a year (probably much more). Disney has also laid off thousands of employees in recent months. Well, wouldn’t you know, Bob Iger has some thoughts on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday morning, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the writers and actors unions going on strike in Hollywood are not being “realistic” with their expectations. Speaking to CNBC’s David Faber from the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, Iger commented on the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike and imminent decision for SAG-AFTRA to join them.

“It’s very disturbing to me. We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Iger said. “I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”

Iger said that while he respects the right of the unions to “get as much as they possibly can in compensation for their people,” they must “be realistic about the business environment, and what this business can deliver.”

Iger continued, “It will have a very, very damaging affect on the whole business, and unfortunately, there’s huge collateral damage in the industry to people who are supportive services, and I could go on and on. It will affect the economy of different regions, even, because of the sheer size of the business. It’s a shame, it is really a shame.”

[From Variety]

I do think that the strikes will damage the film and television industry and there will be a ripple effect of global disruptions to business-as-usual for these corporations…and that’s the f–king point. Strikes are not meant to be convenient or timed around what’s best for a business model which exploits workers. Basically, this is a CEO raking in an eight-figure annual salary, blaming working actors and writers for wanting to be fairly compensated for their work. Period. Considering the way Disney openly screws over their talent – Scarlett Johansson had to sue Disney for breach of contract AND THEY PUBLICLY SMEARED HER – Bob Iger needs to shut his f–king mouth about all of this.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.