Political commentator and podcast host Ben Shapiro’s conservative-leaning company called The Daily Wire said that it will invest 100$ million in kid’s content as part of their strategy to create alternative to the “woke” Walt Disney Company. In a statement, The Daily Wire’s co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said, “Americans are tired of giving their money to woke corporations who hate them. They’re tired of giving their money to woke media companies who want to indoctrinate their children with radical race and gender theory. But they want to do more than just cancel them. They want alternatives. The Daily Wire is giving them alternatives.” Boering told the employees of The Daily Wire that their company will “invest a minimum of $100 million over the next three years into a line of live-action and animated children’s entertainment on its streaming platform.”
As per Boreing, those who have subscribed to The Daily Wire will have access to the children’s content starting next year. Recently, Ben Shapiro stated that his company has decided to compete with Disney and other giant content-creating corporations that are “being held hostage by the woke because they are cowards. If you want entertainment that’s going to cater to your children, we’re going to start making kids’ content over here at Daily Wire specifically. So you don’t have to be catered to by companies who hate your guts and cater to the people who despise your values.”
Earlier, Disney was embroiled in a political controversy due to company’s executives’ vague opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that has been passed in the state legislature of Florida and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. The law forbids teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity with children from kindergarten to third grade. The law has been denounced by many, labeling it as “homophobic and transphobic” even though it doesn’t prohibit teachers of fourth and higher grades to talk about the LGBTQ issues. Advocates of the law say it is created to protect children and it empowers parents of such kids to decide when these issues must be addressed whereas critics argue that it will isolate kids who have LGBTQ parents.
Employees of Disney protested against the bill by staging a walkout over company’s lack of response, it led Disney to release a statement which reads, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”