NOT MAGICAL

Disney CEO Defends Sitting on Trump Council by Citing ‘Hamilton’ Lyrics

Quoted lyrics from a ‘Hamilton’ song.

The CEO of Disney used the hip-hop musical Hamilton to help shield himself from criticism over his role on President Donald Trump’s business advisory council, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

At Disney’s shareholder meeting this year in Denver, Colorado, an audience member criticized the company’s CEO Bob Iger for sitting on the Trump advisory panel, arguing that doing so was an endorsement of Trump’s policies on such issues as immigration. Iger (who has donated to politicians from both major political parties) pushed back, specifically referencing the Hamilton song “The Room Where It Happens,” which is about closed-door policy meetings.

Iger said that his role doesn’t equal support: "I made a decision I thought was in the best interest of our company and the industry," he said. "I think it's an important opportunity to be in the room."

On Wednesday, Colorado progressive activists again urged Iger to step down from Trump’s Business Advisory Council. Last month, Uber’s Travis Kalanick bolted from Trump’s council following sustained public pressure.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and former star of Hamilton, campaigned against the Republican presidential nominee last year, and had once called Trump the “First National Fuckface.”

—Asawin Suebsaeng