Sentiments toward the Walt Disney Company have become increasingly divided along partisan lines amid a public relations and legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
The company dropped a dozen spots to No. 77 in the 2023 Axios Harris Poll 100, a survey that gauges the reputation of the most visible brands in America.
However, 44 percent of Democrats said they were feeling more positive about the company, compared to 42 percent of Republicans who said their opinions about Disney had become more negative, according to the poll released Tuesday.
Disney’s “Reputational Quotient” score — which incorporates perceptions of character, trust and trajectory — rose from 72.5 to 80.3 out of a possible 100 for Democrats, while sinking 14 points among Republicans, from 75 to 61.
The gap between the opinions of Democratic and Republican respondents made Disney the fifth most polarizing company of 100, according to the poll.
The conflicting trend in the perception of Disney follows the company’s opposition to Florida’s legislation barring instruction in schools on gender identity through the third grade. Disney dropped 28 spots in last year’s poll — from 37 to 65 — after first becoming embroiled in the political debate over the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Disney’s reputation score has been decreasing since the 2017 Axios/Harris poll, but this year is the first that the trend is partisan.
The controversial legislation was expanded by DeSantis last week to prohibit discussions of gender identity in grades 4 through 12 unless the instruction is in line with state curriculum or part of a health class a student can opt out of.
The Axios poll surveyed 16,310 Americans from March 13 to 28.