From The Bachelorette Scandal to the OpenAI Collapse — 6 Wild Moments Since Josh D'Amaro Became Disney CEO

On March 18th, The Walt Disney Company welcomed a new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, who previously served as the company’s Chairman of Disney Experiences.

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro

Previous CEO Bob Iger stepped down and handed over the reins of the company to D’Amaro, with confidence that the latter would do a good job of leading Disney into the future. Since then, though, Disney has seen its share of wild moments, all thing the new CEO has already had to navigate during his short time in office. Let’s talk about some of those wild moments.

Cancellation of The Bachelorette

Just a day after D’Amaro stepped into the role of CEO for The Walt Disney Company, ABC, which is owned by Disney, canceled the upcoming season of the TV show The Bachelorette, according to Deadline. The cancellation came after Taylor Frankie Paul after a video surfaced that resulted in a domestic assault investigation of Frankie Paul.

©ABC

“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” Disney wrote in a statement.

Disney ends deal with OpenAI

Last year, Disney announced a partnership with OpenAI to become a content licensing partner for Sora, OpenAI’s video generation platform, a first for The Walt Disney Company. However, after D’Amaro became CEO, OpenAI announced it had plans to shut down the Sora AI video app. As a result, Disney exited the deal it had previously made with OpenAI.

©Sora

In response to Sora’s closure, Disney said, “As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere. We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.”

D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event

Just this week, Disney revealed big plans for its upcoming D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, which will take place in Anaheim on August 14th through 16th. The company revealed tickets would go on sale on April 2nd and outlined what ticket prices would be for this year’s event. The company also announced more details about some upcoming D23 events, including D23 Day at Angels Stadium and Disneyland.

©Disney

D23 announced the return of D23 Mousequerade: The Ultimate Disney Costume Contest at The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, as well as outlined some new experiences coming to this year’s event. Finally, Disney revealed the 2026 class of Disney Legends, including Dwayne Johnson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Hathaway, Bob Iger, and more.

Bluey debuts at Disneyland

Bluey finally made her debut at Disneyland with Bluey’s Best Day Ever, a new interactive show featuring Bluey and Bingo. The show is filled with iconic music and games from the Bluey TV show, and if the first day of the show is any indication, it’s already a HUGE success for Disneyland.

Bluey’s Best Day Ever

Bluey snacks are also available at Disneyland, and we think the whole Disney and Bluey collaboration is now stronger than ever, as Disney World prepares its own Bluey experience in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Disney Adventure World Opens

Disneyland Paris’ second park, Walt Disney Studios, has been reimagined as Disney Adventure World, which includes a lot of new rides, experiences, entertainment, restaurants, and more. It also marks the opening of the World of Frozen land in the park. This “new” park is officially now open to the public.

Arendelle in World of Frozen

There’s more to come, though, as Disneyland Paris continues construction on a Lion King-inspired land.

New cruise ship

As if all that new stuff wasn’t enough, Disney also announced a brand new cruise ship on D’Amaro’s first day as CEO. The Disney Believe will soon be added to the Disney Cruise Line fleet and is expected to set sail for the first time in late 2027.

The new ship’s theme is about promises and possibilities with elements from Encanto, Frozen, Snow White, Moana, The Little Mermaid, and more.

Needless to say, Disney’s new CEO has a lot on his hands, with many more challenges to come. In the meantime, we’ll keep reporting on all the Disney news, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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