FCC Chairman Opens Probe Into Disney, ABC DEI Practices

FCC chair Brendan Carr, after publicly musing that he might go after Disney over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, made it official: The agency has opened a probe into DEI practices at Disney and ABC.

It’s the latest warning shot from Carr against media companies in the Trump administration’s war against DEI.

“I have asked the @FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney & ABC,” he wrote in a post on X Friday. “While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI. I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination.”

A Disney spokesperson said in a statement to Variety, “We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions.”

Disney last month scaled back its DEI policies — as other companies also have done in the wake of the Trump administration’s aggressive push to eliminate DEI in government and the private sector. In Disney’s case, the company announced that it was ending “Reimagine Tomorrow,” an initiative intended to promote stories from underrepresented communities.

In the letter dated March 27 addressed to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Carr wrote, “While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain. For one, I want to ensure that Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name. For another, I want to determine whether Disney’s actions — whether ongoing or recently ended — complied at all times with applicable FCC regulations.”

Carr, in his letter to Iger, cited a Variety report from 2020 that ABC Entertainment mandated “inclusion standards” that required, for example, that 50% of regular and recurring characters on TV shows come from “underrepresented groups.” Those standards “may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production — demanding that ‘50% or more’ of writers, directors, crew and vendors be selected based on group identity,” Carr wrote.

“As I have made clear, promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law. Doing so only deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law,” the FCC chairman wrote, adding, “I have been pleased to see that some regulated companies are already taking steps toward rooting out discriminatory DEI policies.”

In February, Carr instructed the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into the DEI practices of Comcast and NBCUniversal. As with his comments about Disney and ABC, Carr said he was “concerned” that Comcast and NBCU are “promoting invidious forms of DEI that do not comply with FCC regulations & civil rights laws.” In response, Comcast said it would cooperate with the FCC probe and said, “For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers.”

And last week, Carr claimed he will block M&A deals for media companies that promote DEI.

Last year, Donald Trump sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos after the anchor inaccurately stated on-air that Trump had been found liable for rape. (Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll by a New York jury.) In December 2024, Disney and ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward a Trump presidential foundation and museum as part of settling Trump’s defamation lawsuit.