Jordan Peterson Lashes Out at Bob Iger Over Disney Photos

Jordan Peterson has launched an attack on Disney CEO, Bob Iger, on X, formerly known as Twitter, over males seemingly dressed as female characters.

The Canadian psychologist and influencer retweeted news anchor, Megyn Kelly, after she shared another tweet showing people who appeared to be male, dressed as female Disney characters speaking to guests at theme parks.

One of the photos appeared to be outside the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Florida's Disney World Resort, but Newsweek has not been able to verify the authenticity of the images.

"Who the hell wants to see this while taking the kids to Disney?" Kelly wrote in her tweet.

While Peterson decided to take aim at Disney's top brass. "Hey Iger, Stock price still not Low enough For you," he wrote.

Newsweek has contacted Disney by email for comment.

Peterson's jab comes after Disney's stocks fell to a three-year low on Friday, closing the week's market at $82.83. At other times during the week, the stocks had fallen to some of the lowest prices in decades.

It comes weeks after Iger spelled out Disney's financial status in a recent quarterly earnings call, where he revealed the company was on track to make its targeted $5.5 billion in savings due in large part to a range of cost-cutting measures.

He explained that while revenues for the quarter and nine months to July 1, 2023, grew 4 percent and 8 percent respectively, the diluted earnings per share (EPS) decreased to $2.94 from $3.22 in the prior-year period. EPS is a measurement of a company's earnings per share if all convertible securities are converted.

Peterson's tweet is an example of an ongoing culture war Disney finds itself embroiled in as it attempts to update its brand to be more reflective of values in 2023, such as diversity and LGBTQ+ representation.

Peterson is one of many detractors who have accused the company of going "woke" over issues that include casting Black actor Halle Bailey as Ariel in this year's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid and hosting LGBTQ+ days at its theme parks.

These are just some examples of issues Disney's critics are not happy about, but it was when the company spoke out against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' "Don't Say Gay Bill," that the company's attempts at being progressive came under more scrutiny.

In 2022, DeSantis introduced legislation that banned the discussion of sexuality and gender identity for some grades at Florida's public schools. After pressure from their thousands of staff at Disney World and across the country, Disney eventually relented and publicly condemned the bill.

DeSantis then turned his sights on the entertainment firm, waging a war to end its exclusive self-governing of the land where Disney World is located and wrestle back control into the hands of the state government.

Known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney has effectively operated as a self-governed entity, benefits of which include tax breaks, development rights and social privileges.

The Floridian governor and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful tried to appoint a new board with handpicked candidates, but manage to be legally outmaneuvered by Disney at every turn.

The company then launched legal action against DeSantis, arguing he was allegedly punishing the company for its opposition to the bill, arguing he violated Disney's First Amendment rights. It also accused DeSantis of trying to "weaponize government power" in a federal lawsuit it filed in April over his moves to restrict Walt Disney World's self-governing powers.

Peterson is no stranger to taking swipes at Disney, and faced ridicule recently when falling for an internet prank about the upcoming Snow White live-action reboot.

The film which will be released next year has come under fire for casting Rachel Zegler, an actor of Polish and Colombian descent as Snow White, and replaced the Seven Dwarfs from the 1939 film with "magical creatures" of varying genders and ethnicities, but only one actor has dwarfism.

Peterson responded to a tweet by satirical conservative website The Babylon Bee, which joked "Disney to remove problematic kiss from classic movie, Snow White will now remain dead."

Not realizing it was a joke, he retweeted it with the caption, "Looks like @Disney can't stop chasing failure," much to the bemusement of many.