The anti-trans campaigner Chloe Cole will on Wednesday speak out against Disney’s ‘destructive gender ideology policies’ at its annual shareholder meeting, a conservative action group says.
Cole, 19, who famously underwent sex change procedures as a child but later regretted them, will address Disney’s board and CEO Bob Iger about its ‘discriminatory’ healthcare plan, says the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC).
The conservative nonprofit is also a shareholder in Disney.
In a shareholder proposal, NLPC says the entertainment giant’s healthcare plan covers sex change procedures, but offers nothing to those like Cole who later regret them and seek to ‘de-transition.’
‘Disney acts as if people like me don’t exist,’ Cole said in a statement.
Chloe Cole, 19, a ‘detransitioner’, is set to address Disney’s shareholder meeting about a one-sided healthcare plan
Cole’s appearance at the high-level talks are one more headache for Disney’s embattled CEO Bob Iger (center)
‘I intend to make sure the board and Mr Iger hear that the company’s irrational gender ideology policies are actually destructive, and that I am a victim of policies like it.’
Cole said a growing number of LGBTQIA+ Disney employees have undergone ‘ill-advised sex changes’ on the plan and that some, like her, would come to regret them and need medical help to reverse them.
‘You can bet that litigation over deception, and discriminatory benefits policies, won’t be far behind,’ she said.
Disney did not answer DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
In its annual shareholder meeting document, Disney’s board urges shareholders to vote against the proposal, calling it ‘an attempt to generate attention from a proponent with a narrow focus seeking to advance a limited agenda.’
It’s not ‘an authentic attempt to call for action in the best interest of the company and shareholders,’ the document adds.
It is not clear how many people have received sex-reassignment care under Disney’s health plans.
Disney has become a target for conservatives, thanks to its embrace of ‘woke’ values in its movies, shows, and hiring practices
The row pits transgender activists, who call such care ‘life-saving’ and necessary, against conservatives and a growing number of experts who say drugs and surgery are not always the best option.
De-transitioners like Cole complain of being rushed into unnecessary drugs and surgeries by online ideologues and misguided clinicians.
Research suggests that anywhere between 1-30 percent of trans people later de-transition.
Disney, meanwhile, has become a target for conservatives, thanks to its embrace of progressive values in its entertainment content and hiring practices.
Ahead of Disney’s board meeting, the NLPC filed papers with the federal government’s Securities and Exchange Commission and released a video to explain why it wanted the company to widen its healthcare policy.
Paul Chesser, an NLPC director, said Disney agreed to ‘cover sex change treatments in their health insurance offerings’ to meet the requirements of such pro-LGBTQIA+ groups as the Human Rights Campaign.
The 2024 Disney shareholder meeting will be held online, unlike this event from 2004
Paul Chesser, a director at the conservative National Legal and Policy Center, says Disney has been bowed by progressive activism
‘Now we call upon Mr Iger to lead the way for corporate America to provide equal care for those who have suffered physical harm as a result, and who want bodily restoration,’ Chesser said.
‘Besides the damage they have suffered, they are also discriminated against.’
The company’s annual meeting, which will be held virtually, is scheduled for 1 pm Eastern time on Wednesday.
Cole’s appearance at the meeting comes at a pivotal time for Disney, as the company faces a battle for board seats as it tries to reinvigorate its creative franchises and make its streaming business profitable.
Disney’s stock price has climbed 34 percent in 2024, but it remains down nearly 40 percent from its record high close in March 2021.
While Disney has an unusually large number of non-institutional ‘mom and pop’ shareholders, which control 35-40 percent of the company, the vote ultimately will turn on how major index funds vote.
Cole started to transition when she was 12, taking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and undergoing a double mastectomy aged 15.
She is one in a growing list of de-transitioners who has launched a lawsuit against her healthcare providers.