Former Disney CEO Blames Bob Iger for His Dismissal: "I Feel Let Down"

In an interview with Variety, Bob Chapek stated that Bob Iger was responsible for his dismissal from Disney. The former CEO, who led the company for less than three years, is releasing his memoir, Behind the Castle Walls , on September 29th, in which he points out that Iger was unable to relinquish the throne he had occupied for 15 years.

Iger is mentioned 121 times in the book's 272 pages. According to Chapek, his predecessor "seemed to initiate a relentless three-year campaign to push me out." He writes that he "never expected to endure a drawn-out, purposeful undoing of my leadership." Representatives for Iger and Disney declined to comment.

Chapek was abruptly dismissed in November 2022, and Iger returned to the CEO position. In the interview, the executive said he cannot claim he didn't make mistakes, but that nothing would justify the board's decision. "No one is infallible. But I don't think that was causal in any way to the act."

He said that he was approached to write the book soon after his dismissal, but decided to wait. "With distance and time comes a little bit of clarity. I would lose whatever emotion I had over the situation and be able to, at the right time, respond appropriately with facts as opposed to emotions." Chapek says he saw many examples of planted rhetoric after his departure that he considered "not based on facts."

Regarding his relationship with Iger, Chapek stated that there has been no communication since his departure. "Since I have been gone, nothing." He recounted that he met Iger once in Sun Valley, in July 2022, when he was still CEO. "I shook his hand, said hello. We had a brief exchange, very brief, and I moved on, and he moved on."

Asked if he had ever asked Iger why he did this, Chapek replied that he hadn't. "Although there were degrees of that as we were still working together." He cited an April 2020 New York Times article that reported Iger was "reasserting control" at Disney. "If you’re going to point to one thing that really showed his intentions it would be that article, and I think that’s what it did. It foreshadowed his intention."

Chapek also commented on the departure of Peter Rice, Disney's chief entertainment officer, who was fired in June 2022 and replaced by Dana Walden. "It was a decision the company wanted to make at the time. There were other people involved; it wasn't like I woke up one day and decided that."

Regarding Disney's new CEO, Josh D'Amaro, Chapek was complimentary. "Josh is an excellent executive. Josh has a very nice combination of business savvy and business acumen, and he’s also very personable guy. He was on my succession list basically the whole time I was in parks and as CEO. So I think he’s I think he’s the right guy".

Asked if he was still angry about what happened, Chapek said that "disappointed" was the most appropriate word. "I think I was angry for the first year or so, and again, with time comes a little bit of perspective, and so I’ve healed — not fully — and what’s left is disappointment". He added: " I put 30 years into the company and felt that no matter what business they put me on, I delivered results and had the full support of Bob Iger until the day that I get the job. And then it all felt like it changed."

The former CEO also revealed that he hasn't visited Disney parks since leaving. "I feel let down. You go into Disneyland, into It's a Small World, and you buy into the magic. Then you go through what I've been through for the last four years, and it's kind of a head scratcher." He cited the removal of a plaque on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas, that honored him. "The company decided to remove the plaque. Was it necessary? Probably not. Was that spiteful? Yes."