Robert Steffens, a former CFO and co-president of Marvel, has filed a lawsuit against Disney, alleging he was denied a promotion to president of Disney consumer products due to his age and race.
According to the complaint, then-Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter told Steffens that former Disney CEO Bob Chapek refused to promote him, stating the company couldn’t appoint “another old White guy.”
Steffens also claims he was passed over for objecting to prior incidents of racial discrimination within the company.
The lawsuit emerges as Disney scales back its DEI initiatives, including shutting down its ‘Reimagine Tomorrow’ programme, which aimed to “amplify underrepresented voices”.
Disney has stated it will vigorously defend against the claims.
