In news that commentators may find both shocking and long overdue, Disney has laid off long-term exec Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter after 30 years of board membership beginning in 1993. As first broken by The New York Times, Marvel Entertainment chairman Perlmutter — who has been a controversial figure in the company for a considerable amount of time due to making many high-profile enemies — has been let go by Disney as part of a widespread “cost-cutting campaign.”
While the world of Marvel just recently lost Marvel Studios producer Victoria Alonso, which inspired a lot of mixed reactions, it’s easy to tell, however, which side the fandom falls in response to Perlmutter’s firing. It’s known that Perlmutter — a major donor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — was the one responsible for vetoing all attempts to make any female or Black-led MCU projects for its first decade, until Marvel Studios separated from Marvel Entertainment and Kevin Feige was able to go over his head.
Twitter is ablaze with “munchkins celebrating the Wicked Witch’s death” energy right now, then, and though Feige will likely refrain from any public reaction to this news, folks think they know what he’s thinking:
That’s the one.
And here’s the receipt.
Bob Iger finally got his revenge…
Obviously, the wider consequences of Disney’s cost-cutting measures are no laughing matter, with our condolences going to the rest of Marvel Entertainment’s employees as it is folded into other Disney business ventures, but Perlmutter’s exit is still being hailed as a “good” thing.
Wait, what was that about the single bathroom?
Says it all, really.
Whoever came up with that featured art deserves a raise.
This week has seen Disney announce that it intends to lay off as many as 7000 employees (4 percent of its global network) in a bid to to save an extra $5.5. billion in cash. As for Perlmutter, his exit may have also been hastened by reports that he made repeated, failed attempts to install his friend, investor Nelson Peltz (father of actress and Beckham family member, Nicola Peltz), onto the Disney board over the past year.