The lawsuit comes as Disney announces changes to its DEI programs.
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A former Marvel executive is suing Disney after he was allegedly denied a promotion for being "another old White guy."
Robert Steffens, who served as CFO and then co-president of Marvel from 2015-2023, alleged in a complaint filed Tuesday that a Disney executive informed him that he would not be promoted to president of Disney consumer products because of his age and race. Steffens claimed that then-Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter told him in Feb. 2022 that word came from then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek that he would not receive the promotion because the company couldn’t award the job to "another old White guy." The job was then given to a woman of "ambiguous ethnicity," per the complaint.
(Former Marvel exec Robert Steffens is suing Disney over alleged racial and age discrimination. )
Steffens alleged that he was also denied the promotion for objecting to other incidents of racial discrimination that he witnessed at the House of Mouse in the past. The former Marvel executive claimed that Disney was engaged in an "official effort to promote vice presidents based on their race and a memorandum that would have referred to employees with the racial signifier ‘BIPOC.’"
Disney’s actions were "willful, wanton, malicious, intentional, oppressive and despicable and were done in willful and conscious disregard of the rights, welfare and safety of [Steffens]," the complaint stated.
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The suit alleged that Steffens was denied a promotion because the company did not want to promote an "old white guy." (Disney+)
"Our primary focus is on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend our client's interests," Steffens attorney Marcella Burke told Fox News Digital.
The lawsuit comes as the television and entertainment juggernaut has announced they are turning away from some of their DEI initiatives. Disney shut down their "Reimagine Tomorrow" program, which, according to its now defunct website, was dedicated to "amplifying underrepresented voices."
The "Reimagine Tomorrow" initiative was linked to a controversial company meeting leaked by activist Chris Rufo, in which a Disney executive boasted of her "not at all secret gay agenda."
The comments allegedly came down from then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek. (Image Group LA / Disney via Getty Images)
"On my little pocket of Proud Family Disney TVA, the showrunners were super welcoming… our leadership over there has been super welcoming to my not-at-all-secret gay agenda… they’re going hard… I don’t have to be afraid to have these two characters kiss in the background. I was just, wherever I could, adding queerness," ‘Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’ executive producer Latoya Raveneau said at the time.
David Spector is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
