Bob Chapek Claims Iger Undermined His Disney Tenure

Chapek, whose tenure began just weeks before Covid-19 shuttered global operations, detailed the internal friction in his new memoir, Behind the Castle Walls. While Chapek oversaw the transition of theme parks and business operations, Iger retained influence over content initiatives. According to Chapek, this arrangement devolved into a calculated effort by Iger to reassert control, characterized by lunches and dinners where the former CEO reportedly trashed his successor’s leadership using consistent talking points.

Despite raising these incidents with the board, Chapek felt dismissed, receiving assurances that Iger’s behavior was merely a personality quirk that would soon disappear. Instead, the tension culminated in Chapek’s 2022 ouster and Iger’s return to the top post. Chapek characterized Iger’s active opposition as unbelievable, noting that he had expected a more traditional transition where a predecessor acts as a supportive steward rather than a rival.