Walt Disney Co.’s annual meeting took a sharply political turn as Chief Executive Robert Iger faced calls to step down from President Donald Trump’s business policy forum. Disney’s annual shareholder meetings are typically low-key, scripted affairs that eschew controversy and reflect the broad-based appeal of America’s most famous entertainment company. During the meeting, Iger also screened footage from the company’s forthcoming “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and touted robust attendance figures at Shanghai Disneyland, which has welcomed nearly 8 million visitors since opening in June 2016. After the meeting, shareholder Bill Jarosik said he was disappointed by the “amount of politically based questions.”“That kind of takes away from the magic of the meeting,” said Jarosik, a Bolingbrook, Illinois, resident. Jarosik said that he was pleased with Iger’s explanation of his decision to retain his role on the Trump panel — and is glad Iger is involved.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 09, 2017 00:29 UTC