Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek revealed in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal that he has not visited Disney World since his ousting in November 2022. Chapek expressed deep sadness and disappointment, stating that he feels "let down and disillusioned" by the company's apparent attempts to "erase" his time as CEO, which discourages him from returning to the parks.
Chapek also addressed several controversial events during his leadership. He dismissed the notion that Disney+'s $1.5 billion loss during the November 2022 earnings call led to his firing, calling it an "absurdity." Regarding the harsh public response to Scarlett Johansson's 2021 lawsuit over the simultaneous release of "Black Widow" in theaters and on Disney+, Chapek claimed the statement was penned by Disney's head of corporate communications and approved by then-Executive Chairman Bob Iger, not by him. He further stated that his 2022 apology concerning Florida's Parental Rights in Education law (dubbed "Don't Say Gay") was made under pressure from "powers bigger than me."
The former CEO's comments align with sentiments expressed in his new tell-all memoir, "Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth." In the book and related interviews, Chapek details what he perceives as a relentless campaign by Bob Iger to undermine his leadership from the start. Chapek, who was Iger's hand-picked successor in February 2020, claims he voiced concerns about Iger's actions to the Disney board "weekly" but was told, "He'll be gone in two years. It's OK. That's Bob being Bob."
Despite the internal friction, Chapek believes Iger actively worked against him, making his tenure challenging. Iger, who returned to the CEO role after Chapek's dismissal, acknowledged that the company "perhaps weren't as thorough as they should have been" in selecting Chapek as his successor, admitting they "discounted [Chapek's] weaknesses a bit more" than they should have. Chapek was ultimately replaced by Iger in November 2022, less than three years after taking the helm.
