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NY Post

Disney’s Iger: Blackface Incidents Are a ‘Private Matter’

Mar 8, 2019  •  Post A Comment

Disney CEO Bob Iger wasn’t ready to throw anyone under the bus when he was asked Thursday about recent high-profile blackface controversies involving two Disney employees — ABC’s Joy Behar and Jimmy Kimmel.

The New York Post reports that Iger was asked the blackface question at the company’s shareholders meeting in St. Louis. The question followed reports that both Behar and Kimmel had worn blackface in the past.

“This particular incident we choose to deal with as a private matter,” Iger told shareholders.

He added: “We don’t condone the use of blackface under any circumstance in our world today. We dealt with the incidences privately. We did not feel it required any particular comment.”

“Iger said the issue was dealt with ‘swiftly’ but he declined to elaborate,” The Post adds. “Neither Behar nor Kimmel wore blackface while working for ABC, but questions about both stars’ pasts arose recently.”

The report notes that Iger’s comments came after a Disney shareholder spoke out, saying he was “puzzled” that Disney, which owns ABC, did not condemn the comedians.

“The shareholder, Justin Danhof of conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research, said Disney’s silence reeked of ‘hypocrisy’ given criticism ABC personalities, including Behar, have lobbed at other people entangled in blackface controversies, including former NBC host Megyn Kelly,” The Post reports.

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