In the wake of a religious hate crime resulting in the death of a young church staff member, Los Angeles faith leaders have come together to call upon Mr. Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, to end the hate propaganda purveyed by A&E Networks. They will be gathering in a press conference outside of Disney Studios in Burbank on Tuesday, January 29 at 4:00pm.

A&E Networks, a co-owned subsidiary of the Disney Company, has elected itself a purveyor of religious hate propaganda through its airing of Leah Remini’s “Aftermath” show, which has endangered the religious freedom and lives of millions across several faith groups.

A staff member of the Church of Scientology in Sydney, Australia was murdered earlier this month by someone directly influenced by A&E’s religious hate programming. It is the latest in a long line of murders at American and foreign houses of worship, further evidence of the dangerous link between hate speech and violence which has been identified by the Council of Europe and many other sources.

Reverend Dr. Cecil L. Murray, Pastor Emeritus, First AME Church of Los Angeles raised this issue with Mr. Iger in his letter of December 13, 2018, who offered no response. Rev. Murray warned in that letter, “Do you have to wait until something worse happens to stop this hate-mongering?” Not 3 weeks later, something worse did happen: murder.

Rev. Shane Harris President and Founder of The People’s Alliance for Justice, joining with Rev. Murray and the Church of Scientology, called upon media outlets to: “think beyond their pocket books to embrace places of worship and those housed within in support of love and peace.”

Disney has remained silent on the subject of A&E’s anti-religious hate campaign. 

Anti-religious rhetoric must end. People are being murdered in their houses of worship. Hate campaigns are behind this. As a purported purveyor of wholesome television and film, Disney should be leading the way towards a more peaceful, moral world, not promoting hate propaganda.

The late and great Walt Disney himself was a devout Christian. Walt was also eminently respectful of people of all faiths. He stated:

“I believe firmly in the efficacy of religion, in its powerful influence on a person’s whole life. It helps immeasurably to meet the storms and stress of life and keep you attuned to the Divine inspiration. Without inspiration, we would perish.” – Walt Disney

Is Bob Iger choosing to betray Walt Disney’s vision and legacy, at the very company he founded to carry it out?

We are Baptist, we are First AME, we are Scientologists, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and many more denominations. We are united. And we are here to say: shame on you Disney for supporting hate, when love is what conquers all. We ask you to meet with us. If we do not hear from you, we will be forced to demand an international boycott of Disney through the power and reach of our combined faiths.