Bob Chapek is placing responsibility for his 2022 firing as Disney CEO on Bob Iger, using an upcoming memoir to argue that his predecessor and eventual successor intentionally undermined his leadership.
Chapek, who was dismissed after less than three years in the role, makes the accusation in Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth. The book will be released Sept. 29 by Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.
“My abrupt dismissal hurt my reputation, leaving those close to me, outsiders and some within the kingdom trying to figure out what I did wrong,” Chapek writes. “The answer, again, is nothing.”
Instead, Chapek claims Iger — who had selected him for Disney’s top job — relentlessly and deliberately sabotaged him. Although Chapek’s view of the executive conflict has not been a secret, the memoir marks his first extended public defense of his time as CEO. Describing himself as a disrupter, he writes, “I didn’t get a chance to finish what I started.”
A complicated Disney handover
Iger abruptly stepped down as CEO in February 2020 after a long run leading the company, but he remained executive chairman for two years. During that period, he retained control of Disney’s creative operations and reported directly to the board of directors.
Chapek, meanwhile, reported both to Iger and to the board. The two executives clashed, and Chapek suggests in the book that Iger believed he could return to the CEO position whenever he chose.
Chapek also raises questions about the timing of Iger’s 2020 departure. “I have been told by several high-ranking people both in government and private business that in their opinions, the real reason he left the company so abruptly was his anticipation of the arrival of Covid,” he writes.
Disney has denied that the pandemic had anything to do with Iger leaving the CEO position. The company declined to comment on Chapek’s memoir.
Iger has said that he wanted to wind down after a successful tenure and believed at the time that Chapek was the right executive to replace him. Speaking at a 2023 conference, Iger noted that he had been CEO for about 15 years and said there were other subjects and pursuits he wanted to explore.
Iger also acknowledged his concerns about Disney under Chapek, saying he was “disappointed in what I was seeing” during the transition and after his own departure. However, he said he had tried to distance himself because Disney was Chapek’s business to run.
Pressure mounted during Chapek’s tenure
Chapek faced criticism on several fronts soon after becoming CEO. Management decisions frustrated key executives, while a public fight with Scarlett Johansson alienated talent.
Disney’s response to Florida legislation dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill also drew anger from both company employees and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Chapek’s removal followed shortly after Disney disclosed a quarterly streaming loss of $1.5 billion, which was greater than expected.
The board’s handling of Chapek’s appointment, followed by his turbulent tenure, later became ammunition for activist investor Nelson Peltz during a bruising proxy fight with Disney.
Iger returned as chief executive after Chapek was fired and remained in the position through March of this year. Josh D’Amaro, who led Disney’s theme parks and experiences business, was named CEO following a more extensive executive search.
That succession provides another point of connection in Chapek’s account. Before becoming CEO, Chapek had also run Disney’s parks and experiences operation, where he worked with D’Amaro. In the memoir, he portrays himself as an important advocate for the executive who ultimately reached the company’s top job.
“I consistently suggested the idea of promoting him,” Chapek writes of D’Amaro. “He had been a relative unknown in the corporate hierarchy before I singled him out.”
What Happens Next?
Chapek’s full account of his three decades at Disney, his brief time as CEO and his conflict with Iger will reach readers when Behind the Castle Walls is published Sept. 29. For now, Disney has declined to address the former chief executive’s allegations.