President-elect Donald Trump threw shade at the Walt Disney Company during a recent event at Mar-a-Lago with former Marvel Entertainment boss and billionaire Ike Perlmutter in attendance.
“The guy went from stone-cold broke to owning Disney,” Trump told the crowd, referring to Perlmutter. “Then he got out of Disney because they went woke. He didn’t want woke Donald Duck.”
Also in attendance was Rocky star Sylvester Stallone.
It remains unclear when the event took place, though it appears to have been this week.
Perlmutter, who has been a loyal Trump donor and ally, sold Marvel to Disney in 2009 in a $4 billion blockbuster deal that allowed him to continue managing Marvel’s consumer products. The superhero brand quickly became a cash cow for Disney, which pumped out Marvel-branded movies including the Iron Man trilogy, The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and The Avengers movies.
But last year, Disney parted ways with Perlmutter, putting an end to his official association with Marvel. His departure came amid much financial turmoil at Disney as the studio faltered amid brand damage brought on by its embrace of woke identity politics, which included promoting transgenderism in its entertainment aimed at children.
Disney experienced a disastrous 2022 that saw the company’s stock plunge 44 percent and its profitability take a significant hit, resulting in the firing of then-CEO Bob Chapek. Mass layoffs ensued and have continued through 2024.
Some reports noted that Perlmutter’s departure came after he had backed activist investor Nelson Peltz’s proxy battle to join the Disney board, which might have put Perlmutter on a collision course with returning CEO Bob Iger.
Perlmutter also sided with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in his prolonged fight with Disney after the studio attacked the state over its Parental Rights in Education law, which protects children from radical LGBTQ indoctrination in schools.
Famously wary of the news media, Perlmutter has never given an interview in his decades as a businessman or political donor.
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