Entertainment studios are rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives following major changes made by the Trump administration.
Large-scale DEI initiatives appeared across the U.S. in 2020, following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police. The incident incited Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country, protests which led to major change in corporate America.
Although the origins of DEI programs date back to the Civil Rights Movement, “Floyd’s murder renewed the push for DEI leadership roles and initiatives at major corporations,” according to CNN.
Dozens of entertainment studios across Hollywood joined corporate America to implement new DEI programs; including Amazon Studios, Disney and Fox Entertainment.
Three years later, people of color and women found major success in the film industry, and diverse audiences dominated the box office in 2023. However, unease over the sanctity of diversity-centered initiatives began in June when a series of Hollywood diversity executives were laid off.
Concerns stagnated last year as entertainment studios waited for the results of the 2024 Presidential Election before Trump won.
On the day of his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order terminating all DEI offices, positions and initiatives within the federal government. Last Friday, a video captioned “DEI is dead under the Trump administration” was posted on the White House’s official Instagram account.
A growing list of companies have rolled back DEI initiatives in response to these changes, with Disney and Amazon Studios among the most recent.
Justin Daering, director of Ohio University’s School of Film, has worked in the entertainment industry since 2008 when he began working on “Public Enemies” (2009).
Daering, an award-winning writer and director, has seen diversity initiatives evolve throughout his career, beginning with programs known as “incubator labs.”
“Warner Bros. had one, and Sony had one,” he said. “They were intended to be diversity initiatives, but they weren’t labeled that way.”
Incubator labs are programs focused on expanding experience and opportunities for up-and-coming artists, often those from underrepresented communities. Many directors, including Ryan Coogler and Alfonso Cuarón, have found success following these labs.
By the mid-to-late 2010s, Daering began to see positions specifically meant to expand diversity content and representation opening up at studios. Now, he’s watching as they disappear.
“It's hard to know what's going to come out (of shutting down diversity initiatives) because I don't know that they were done as whole-heartedly as they were being advertised,” Daering said. “At the same time, some of them were very successful and tapped into very lucrative markets that those companies have no interest in losing access to.”
UCLA’s 2024 Hollywood Diversity Report found “America’s increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse content in theatrical film releases.” It also found diverse movies tend to perform better at the box office.
“There's a big marketplace for (diverse content), and that's not going away,” Daering said. “The people who have an interest in going back to an era where all the content is white people, it's not going to happen. You can't put the genie back in the bottle like that. People are seeing content with people that resemble themselves, that they didn't used to have … they're going to want to continue to see it.”
Daering said it is harder to predict what’s going to happen in terms of hiring practices.
“I think there's going to be some negative impact,” Daering said. “But, I think there are people who care about this, who are going to continue to care about it in businesses, whether or not DEI mandates exist … I think the business has diversified a lot, and that's going to naturally continue of its own accord.”
As for the advice Daering would give to concerned students entering into the entertainment industry, he said to not be discouraged.
“I believe that there is room in this business for people who are great, always,” Daering said. “This is a marathon, not a sprint business for anybody, no matter who you are … someone who's good at what they do and passionate and keeps going for it will make it.”
As corporations change to fit into the new administration's standards, some entertainment industry members wait to see the resulting impacts of DEI rollbacks.
