FCC Chair Brendan Carr has opened a formal investigation into Disney over allegations that its DEI-driven hiring practices at ABC may violate federal equal employment regulations. If proven, the infractions could put ABC's broadcast license at risk, Carr said Monday during a Fox News interview. The move comes amid the 47th President Donald Trump's broader crackdown on DEI programs across government and private institutions.
Key Details:
Carr said hiring decisions allegedly made based on race and gender "go to the character qualifications" required for FCC licensing.
The investigation is focused on whether ABC's parent company, Disney, used racial and gender quotas or "race-defined affinity groups" in employment decisions.
This probe follows a similar FCC investigation into Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, launched last month.
Diving Deeper:
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Monday signaled that ABC's broadcast license could be in jeopardy if an ongoing investigation confirms that the network, through its parent company Disney, violated federal law by using race and gender-based hiring practices.
Appearing on Fox News's The Story, Carr stated, "If the evidence does in fact play out and shows that they were engaged in race- and gender-based discrimination, that's a very serious issue at the FCC, that could fundamentally go to their character qualifications to even hold a license."
The investigation, which Carr initiated Friday, zeroes in on Disney's internal DEI framework and whether it conflicts with FCC's equal employment opportunity (EEO) regulations. Under these rules, broadcasters are prohibited from making employment decisions based on protected characteristics such as race and gender. "The evidence we have so far indicates potentially that Disney and ABC were making employment decisions based on race and gender," Carr said, referencing alleged quotas and "race-defined affinity groups."
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Carr also hinted that Disney may have rebranded some DEI programs without altering the underlying policies. In his letter to the company, he noted that the FCC's enforcement division would follow up on whether such changes were superficial attempts to evade regulatory scrutiny.
The probe into Disney mirrors a similar investigation the FCC launched into Comcast just weeks ago, raising questions about how widespread such practices may be within legacy media corporations. Carr emphasized in letters to both companies that the FCC's role is to ensure broadcast license holders are not promoting "invidious forms of discrimination."
Speaking of doling out high-paying gigs to people based not on talent but on skin color:
This is a good place to sneak in an update on Snow Woke.
The son of the film's producer defended his father's reluctant efforts to stop Rachel Zegler from tanking the film with her constant divisive political sloganeering by saying, "Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged."
Well, coincidentally, a fellow actress who appeared with her in the similarly-disastrous West Side Story posted that same quote.
On Tuesday, Ariana DeBose, 34, posted a now-deleted Instagram post slamming her "West Side Story" co-star Rachel Zegler, 23 over the latter's "Snow White" controversy.
The original post that the "Hamilton" actress displayed on her Instagram was a quote saying, "Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged."
After that initial post, DeBose said in a follow-up, "I post quotes all the time and thought this one was meaningful. Will fully cop to the fact I did not do any research on where this quote came from, nor did I know of the connection until it was pointed out to me."
LOL shyeah sure, you didn't know the quote was about your West Side Story co-star when you posted it.
The actress won an Oscar for her supporting role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of "West Side Story." Zegler starred as Maria in that film.
"I have no intention of inserting myself into a news cycle," DeBose added in her follow-up post. "This is not the first time I've posted about dealing with narcissism and it probably won't be the last, but next time I'll be sure to clarify its origins first."
Uh-huh.
Check out who's a big fan of Rachel Zegler: Hollywood's current favorite low-talent leftwing agitator Pedro Pascal.
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On Sunday, Pedro Pascal, 49, posted a photo of Zegler on his Instagram Stories, tagging her and adding the caption, "icon." Meanwhile, John Lennon's son, Sean, slammed Zegler as a "brat."
I can't wait until Fantastic Four bombs so that Hollywood stops casting this flabby dadbod acne-scarred dead-eyed Charisma Vacuum in every damn movie.