People familiar with the matter told CNBC that senior leaders in Disney's creative studios were upset about the bill.
The senior leadership groups from the media giant's creative studios met with Chapek after the company's annual meeting. People said that many people were frustrated with Disney's reluctance to take a firm stand against the bill.
People who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal conversations at Disney said that employees raised concerns in the wake of the meeting, saying that Chapek didn't respond critically to homophobic comments made by a shareholder during the Q&A period.
Pressure was put on Disney to come out earlier in opposition to the Parental Rights in Education bill. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not allowed in public schools for kindergarten through third grade. The bill has been dubbed "Don't Say Gay" and is criticized by advocates who believe it could harm marginalized people.
In the past week, executives have hosted town halls and meetings with employees to hear their concerns. Some were reassured by the email that was sent Friday by Chapek to express his commitment to support and engage with the LGBTQ+ community and to pause all political donations in Florida pending review.
Many people are waiting for the company to take appropriate action against the bill. Some employees are protesting on Tuesday.
The time of the company's event is set to coincide with the walk out. The regular discussions are usually held monthly and were scheduled on March 2. The event is called "LGBTQ+ Employees, Leaders and Allies Get Disney Real."
Employees can expect an honest conversation addressing the following: How does the Don't Say Gay bill and other pending legislation affect the LGBTQ? Why has the company's leaders organized to hold them accountable? How will we rebuild trust with our employees and communities?
It is not clear how many people will walk out on Tuesday. The lot has only a fraction of employees working on it.
Disney didn't comment on the article.
The email addressed the broader frustration.
Thank you to all who have reached out to me sharing your pain, frustration and sadness over the company's response to the Florida bill. Talking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you has helped me better understand how we were silenced. It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but also another challenge to basic human rights. I let you down by not being a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights. I am sorry.
He announced that the company is increasing its support for advocacy groups to combat similar legislation to the "Don't Say Gay" bill in other states and is pausing all political donations in the state of Florida.
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