With walkout threat, Disney finds itself in balancing act

By MIKE SCHNEIDER and BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — With some workers across the U.S. threatening a walkout, The Walt Disney Co. finds itself performing a high-wire act of balancing the expectations of a diverse workforce with demands from an increasingly polarized and politicized marketplace. On the one side were LGBTQ supporters and Disney employees who were planning to walk off their jobs Tuesday in protest of CEO Bob Chapek’s slow response in publicly criticizing Florida legislation that critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. On the other side, were politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who accuse the entertainment conglomerate of being “woke.”