As Disney+ subscribers click to watch “Peter Pan,” “Dumbo” and other older films on the streaming app, they will soon notice a different and shortened content advisory notifying them of “stereotypes or negative depictions,” according to multiple reports.
Disney will change the disclaimer that autoplays before several older titles, Axios and Variety reported Tuesday. According to the reports, the previous disclaimer warned viewers the film “includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures,” while the updated warning will read: “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”
Content warnings were added to older movies, such as “Dumbo,” by Disney in November 2019 due to racist depictions shown in the films created and produced by the company in the 1940s and ’50s.
“This program is presented as originally created,” Disney’s warning previously said. “It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
In October 2020, Disney replaced the content warning with a longer version, as previously reported by USA TODAY: “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.”
USA TODAY contacted Disney on Wednesday but did not immediately receive a response.
The changeup in Disney’s content advisories comes alongside other changes with the company’s overall diversity strategy, Axios and Variety reported, citing a note sent to employees by Disney’s chief human resources officer, Sonia Coleman.
Disney will replace its “Diversity & Inclusion” performance factor, which it used to evaluate compensation for executives, with a new “Talent Strategy” factor that is more focused on how values drive business success, according to the note to employees first reported by Axios.
Disney is also ending its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative, and the corresponding website, which was created to highlight stories and talent from underrepresented communities, according to the note, the outlet reported.
“We have spent the last year partnering with stakeholders across the company to discuss the evolution of our strategic framework for advancing our commitment to being welcoming, respectful, and inclusive in how we operate so we are the best place to work,” Coleman wrote in the note to Disney employees, according to the reports.
The changes come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect the “civil rights of all Americans” by getting rid of “radical DEI preferencing” in federal contracting and ordering federal agencies to “relentlessly combat private sector discrimination,” according to a White House news release.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs consist of a range of policies aimed at eliminating hiring bias and opening career opportunities for people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community.
Disney returning to being ‘entertainment-driven’
When Bog Iger returned as Disney’s CEO in 2022, replacing Bob Chapek, he made it a priority to get back to valuing entertainment, rather than what he called “agenda-drive” values.
“Our primary mission needs to be to entertain, and then through our entertainment to continue to have a positive impact on the world. I’m very serious about that. It should not be agenda-driven, it should be entertainment-driven,” Iger, who initially served as Disney’s CEO from 2005-20, said at the company’s 2023 annual shareholders meeting.
Contributing: Jenna Ryu, USA TODAY