The 72-year-old exec is under fire for calling the labor situation right now 'very disturbing' after being reported to earn roughly $27 million for each of the first two years of his return as the Disney CEO.
- Jul 14, 2023
AceShowbiz - Bob Iger has landed in hot water over his comments on the actors and writers strikes. The chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company is being lambasted on social media after he called the labor situation right now "very disturbing" and slammed the unions' demands as "not realistic."
In a lengthy sit-down with CNBC from Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, Iger addressed the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. "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," he told David Faber on Thursday, July 13. "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."
Addressing his concerns that the strikes will have a "very, very damaging effect on the whole business," he continued, "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 made the comments after he extended his contract with Disney through 2026. The media exec, who returned as Disney CEO in November 2022 after his initial exit at the end of 2021, is expected to earn up to $27 million in 2023, while his new deal may grant him up to $31 million in compensation packages, dependent on performance and share price.
Needless to say, WGA picketers went berserk online after Iger expressed his opinion on the strikes. "Bob Iger lecturing everyone about what is realistic while his park employees live in cars and are on food stamps as he gets paid 27 million a f**king year is the height of hypocrisy. F**k every single one of these bloody fanged orcs. I cannot stand it," one person reacted to his interview.
TV writer Susan Hurwitz Arneson sarcastically commented, "Love that this interview was given at the Sun Valley Conference of billionaires where they all flew in on their private jets. Yeah, we're the unreasonable ones for demanding fair compensation for our work."
"Hair Love" creator Matthew A. Cherry questioned, "Isn't Bob Iger currently at a Billionaire Summer Camp talking about SAG-AFTRA & the WGA are being unrealistic." Another tweeted, "Disney CEO Bob Iger-who makes $27M/year-complains that writers & actors aren't realistic in their demands, refuses to answer what's unrealistic, & admits a strike will be devastating. Yes-that's how strikes work. That's why they're effective. Pay Workers."
Someone else slammed media bosses, including Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, saying, "Bob Iger, Zaslav and other titans are showing you exactly who they are. This is how they think. You are peasants and they are the ones chosen by fate and God to live the gilded life. At least Mary Antoinette offered cake. These folks won't even give crumbs. Modern day villains."
On Thursday, the SAG-AFTRA announced they would go on a strike effective Friday, July 14. In her speech, the union's president Fran Drescher said, "This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth." She excoriated "big business, who care more about Wall Street than you and your family."
Supporting the strike, Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh and Rami Malek walked out of the premiere of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" in London. Margot Robbie also said she is "absolutely" in support of the strikes.
