Actress Eva Longoria told “The View” co-hosts on Tuesday that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is “good for business,” although the initiative has also helped cause big-budget films to flop.
Co-host Joy Behar asked Longoria about her production company, as DEI initiatives are being “stripped away” by President Donald Trump’s administration. The “Desperate Housewives” actress said DEI is both “good for business” and a moral practice used to push back against historical injustices.
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“We have to remember why DEI was created and it was to correct historical exclusion which was not just about Latino or black, it’s about women, it’s disabled, LGBTQ+, it’s about a lot of marginalized communities that never get to tell their stories,” Longoria said, leading Behar to ask why these initiatives are being removed. “Because it’s bad business. It’s not just a moral imperative, like I do it because it’s morally right, I want authentic storytelling, I want the people who have lived these stories to tell them. But, we are creating programming for the most diverse audience ever in the history of the world, and so it’s not just a moral imperative, it’s just good business.”
Hollywood films have flopped at historic levels as film companies have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. For a modern adaptation of the 1937 film “Snow White,” Disney cast Latina actress Rachel Zegler, who angered the public by actively promoting her pro-Palestinian political beliefs, to play the classic princess.
When Trump won the 2024 election, the actress further posted on Instagram, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.”
The film, released on March 21, is on track to be the worst-performing live-action Disney adaptation of all time, earning only $43 million at the box office in its opening weekend, despite a budget of between $250 and $270 million. It received just a 43% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Disney removed “and the Seven Dwarfs” from the film’s title and made the dwarfs using CGI to avoid reinforcing stereotypes about dwarfism that were supposedly associated with the original movie.
Disney released “Strange World,” a film featuring the company’s first LGBT protagonist, in 2022, which ultimately bombed at the box office. With a budget of $180 million, the film grossed about $800,000 at the start of its preview period and earned $18.6 million by Thanksgiving weekend.
That same year, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek vowed that his company would make more gay content for children. The company’s “benefits team” also reportedly offered resources and guides to employees who wanted to transition their children.
Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 to terminate DEI initiatives and preferencing across the federal government, claiming that the programs are “radical and wasteful.” He also made dismantling DEI in K-12 schools, universities, and federal government agencies a priority, which the American public appears to overwhelmingly support.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
