The Walt Disney Company is under fire from conservatives after a video surfaced featuring Michael Giordano, Disney’s Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, talking about diversity hiring.
The video was originally shared on X by James O’Keefe, founder of the far-right group Project Veritas, and circulated by conservative media.
In the video, Giordano is speaking to an undercover O’Keefe Media Group journalist at a restaurant. The journalist was reportedly pretending to be on a date with Giordano.
Giordano says at the beginning of the video, “Certainly, there have been times where, you know, there’s no way we’re hiring a white man for this.” When the unseen reporter asks if this is unspoken, he says, “There are times when it’s spoken.” When asked how an executive might say this, Giordano says, “There’s no way we’re hiring a white man for this role.”
Giordano, a white man who has been with Disney for over 10 years, claims he has been denied promotions because of his race and sex. He says employees in HR and other positions have told him, “Look, nobody else is going to tell you this, Mike, but they’re not considering any white males for this job.”
Giordano says that a few years ago, Disney denied a position to someone who was “half Black but didn’t, like, appear half Black” because “they wanted someone in meetings who would appear a certain way and he wasn’t gonna bring that to the meeting.”
“I’m guessing that there is a [sic] acceptable code words and buzzwords that are used to explain what they’re looking for,” Giordano says. An example he gave was, “We’re not looking at the usual suspects for this job.”
Giordano says that Disney is careful about messaging because they don’t want to get sued.
“When it comes to diversity,” he said, “there is a belief that it’s just good for society. But there’s also a belief that it’s going to make more money if we appeal to a wider variety of people and it’s a good thing. We have shareholders too. There are conservative people who don’t lean into it, but you can make the argument that we make more money if we appeal to a wider variety of people.”
O’Keefe and supporters claim Giordano’s comments prove Disney discriminates against white men.
O’Keefe and Project Veritas are known for deceptively edited videos. Some of Giordano’s comments may be taken out of context. The video also features clips of O’Keefe, filmed outside The Walt Disney Company headquarters, adding comments and context that may be misleading. The veracity of the video is unconfirmed.
The video prompted responses from various conservative figures. Elon Musk posted, “This is messed up,” and Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah said, “Disney’s lawyers will be busy. Very busy. Because this Disney exec admitted to hiring (and not hiring) on the basis of race. As it turns out, that’s against the law. In fact, it has been for the last 60 years.”
Giordano’s LinkedIn page has been made private or deleted. World of Reel claims Disney has told Giordano to take a leave of absence but this is not confirmed.
The full video is embedded below.
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