FCC Details Disney’s History of Alleged Discrimination Based on Race, Gender

The controversy escalated Thursday when Disney-owned ABC submitted applications to renew licenses for eight broadcast television stations while simultaneously launching attacks against Carr over what the company characterized as free speech concerns. Chairman Brendan Carr had initiated the early license renewal process in April after raising questions about Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

Carr issued a pointed statement explaining the FCC’s ongoing investigation into the entertainment giant. The agency has been examining Disney for over a year following reports alleging discrimination against individuals based on race, gender, or other protected characteristics in violation of federal nondiscrimination laws. The allegations encompass concerns about Disney’s hiring, promoting, compensating, and providing or denying workplace opportunities based on protected characteristics.

The FCC chairman noted that Disney only filed the ABC broadcast license renewal applications after the agency informed the company that its responses to the investigation had been disingenuous, deficient, and improper. Carr emphasized that broadcast licensees carry a unique obligation to operate in the public interest, adding that the FCC will follow the facts and law wherever they may lead.

The FCC issued a public notice Thursday reminding broadcasters that those operating on public airwaves must serve the public interest. The commission highlighted that spectrum is extremely valuable, with spectrum auctions routinely generating billions of dollars for the same spectrum broadcasters use free of charge. In exchange for this access, broadcasters are required to operate in the public interest of the communities they serve.

This obligation distinguishes them from distributors using other technologies, including internet or cable channels, which face no FCC requirement to identify and serve the needs of particular communities. Because the government selects broadcasters while excluding others and grants them free access to a valuable public resource, Congress has charged the FCC with ensuring broadcasters uphold their obligation as public trustees.

In a March 2025 letter to then-Disney CEO Robert Iger, Carr cited multiple reports of alleged discrimination by the media conglomerate. He noted that in recent years, Disney made DEI a key priority for the company’s businesses and embedded explicit race- and gender-based criteria across its operations.

Public reports, including ones based on whistleblower documents, paint what Carr described as a disturbing picture of Disney’s DEI practices. In at least one account, a Disney employee described the company’s decision to launch what would amount to racially-segregated affinity groups and spaces.

The company publicly launched a “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, which Carr suggested appeared to serve as a mechanism for advancing its DEI mission. Disney also implemented mandatory “Inclusion Standards” across ABC, requiring that 50 percent of regular and recurring characters be drawn from underrepresented groups.

These standards may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production, demanding that 50 percent or more of writers, directors, crew, and vendors be selected based on group identity. Evidence suggests that executive bonuses may also have been tied to DEI performance, and ABC has utilized race-based hiring databases and restricted fellowships to select demographic groups.

During the FCC’s May meeting, Carr stated there is evidence indicating that Disney had created racially segregated spaces inside the company. There is also evidence potentially showing that the company was hiring based on race and gender and protected characteristics, as well as compensating, promoting, and providing workplace opportunities that differed accordingly.

If the evidence establishes these practices occurred, Carr characterized it as a serious issue, noting that action is being taken not just at the FCC but also by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Justice.

With information from Breitbart News