Disney’s new chief executive did not get a honeymoon period. In his first six days on the job, a $1bn AI deal unravelled, a key gaming partner cut more than 1,000 jobs and a flagship TV franchise imploded in scandal.
Josh D’Amaro took charge of Disney last Wednesday. The next day, a video emerged showing the star of one of ABC’s most popular television shows, The Bachelorette, attacking the father of her children. Within hours, Disney said it was shelving the entire season, which had cost about $60mn, according to people familiar with the matter.
On Tuesday, OpenAI abruptly said it was shutting Sora, its video generation tool, scrapping a $1bn deal with Disney that had been hailed as a “landmark” agreement just three months ago. “We know this news is disappointing,” Sora said in a brief post on X.