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The Best Reactions to Disney CEO Bob Chapek Getting Fired

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It’s been a whirlwind of a weekend for Disney fans.

In what many have considered one of the biggest shocks in recent Disney Company history, The Walt Disney Company announced on Sunday, November 20, 2022, that Bob Chapek would be stepping down immediately as CEO, and be replaced by Bob Iger, who left the position at the beginning of 2020. Susan Arnold will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

Disney fans have been calling for Mr Chapek to be fired for quite some time, with a petition going viral last year seeking to persuade The Walt Disney Company to fire Disney CEO Chapek. The Disney CEO had become a divided topic of discussion among Disney Guests – and now it seems, the Disney Board itself.

And with the Board’s abrupt decision to fire Bob Chapek and bring back retired Disney CEO Bob Iger, the internet has broken with hilarious memes and reactions from so-called “Disney Adults” – and we’ve compiled our favorites.

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Bob Chapek’s time as CEO of The Walt Disney Company divided Disney fans, with several Disney PR backlashes, a political battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the new Disney Genie+ and Park Reservation systems, and a recent focus on budget cuts and layoffs after a poor quarterly earnings report.

Disney’s streaming services lost $1.47 billion last quarter, more than double the unit’s loss from a year prior, while shares of Disney fell roughly 8% in after-hours trading on Wall Street. It seems that Disney falling short of expectations for profit and key revenue segments led to Chapek’s demise. 

Bob Iger was a beloved CEO in his 15-year tenure, steering Disney through acquisitions of Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel Studios, and 21st Century Fox to become the giant entertainment company it is today. It is unknown at this point how his reinstatement as Disney CEO will impact the company going forward, but he has already sent a heartfelt message to Cast Members expressing his “gratitude” for being back as Disney CEO.

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Credit: Disney

Within minutes, the news of Iger’s return was trending on social media, with the number of Tweets and posts about Chapek reaching the thousands. One particular meme poked fun at Iger breaking the internet – in it, Taylor Swift exclaims “I broke the internet this week over my concert ticket issue,” referencing the debacle experienced by Ticketmaster for many “Swifties,” with Bob Iger than saying “Hold my beer.”

Many Disney fans joked about the recent missteps Bob Chapek had seemingly made as Disney CEO, with Twitter user @jeffgordonla referencing Chapek’s remarks about adults not wanting to watch animated movies while speaking at the Wall Street Journal Tech Conference:

Bob Iger was sitting at home one night watching Wall-E with a nice glass of red in his home cinema. He then gets an alert on his phone “Disney CEO Bob Chapek Thinks Adults Don’t Want to Watch Animated Movies” and that’s all it took.

Another user, @MagicbandManiac, referenced Iger’s acquisition of Marvel Studios, with a post that referenced Iger as Thanos:

Bob Iger right now

Disney theme park reporter @ScottGustin matched the new two-year tenure of Bob Iger with the Main Street Electrical Parade, which has appeared in limited runs over the years at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World:

Disney says Iger is returning for two years. Don’t miss your last chance to see him as CEO before he glows away forever.

Disney fan @chrisolope managed to capture the shock of most Disney Adults on the internet, and the desire to find out why Disney CEO Chapek got fired:

not Bob Iger coming back as CEO WHAT IS THE TEA WHAT HAPPENED

Twitter user @Brandonturrisi posted a tongue-in-cheek video depicting Disney fandom reacting to Bob Chapek’s ousting:

Disney Adults right now after hearing Bob Iger is back and Bob Chapek is fired

Satirical page @FakeDisneyFact shared a funny imagined scenario in which Chapek and Iger were made to compete for the role of Disney CEO on the popular Disney Park ride Toy Story Mania at Disneyland:

Last night, the ghost of Walt Disney forced Chapek and Iger to ride Toy Story Mania, and the whoever had the highest score walked out as CEO

And in a joke that only Cast Members will understand, @ThatDisneyBoi hilariously compared Chapek getting fired to him having “too many points” in the reprimand system:

In one of our favorite reactions, @SuperWeenieHtJr wrote:

I can see white smoke rising over the Magic Kingdom right now. A new Bob has been selected.

And in a gif shared multiple times online, @MadnessInMySoul addressed Bob Chapek with the lyrics “Bye, Bye, Bye” by NSYNC:

In what many Disney Cast Members and Disney Park fans are relating to “fan fiction come true,” it seems only time will tell to see what impact returning Disney CEO Iger will have on the company.

All we know for now is that the news has sent shockwaves across the globe – and, not surprisingly, broken the internet.

 

About Melissa Cannioto

Melissa is an author, adventurer, and chatterbox, who has worked at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and Adventures by Disney! A British native, she has traveled the world seeking new experiences, and now resides in Florida with her husband, an Air Force pilot. Find her children's book at @bear.hug.book