Disney's Geoff Morrell Resigns
Local News Staff 
Walt Disney Co's head of corporate affairs, Geoff Morrell, is leaving the company three months after joining from oil and energy company BP Plc, according to an email (reviewed by media sources) on Friday from Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek.
Morrell's brief tenure has been marked by controversy over the company's response to Florida’s law barring classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity for some younger students.
Kristina Schake will lead the company's communications efforts, Chapek said in the email. Her 30-plus years of experience include heading up President Joe Biden's vaccine education program, as well as communications for Instagram and work in the Obama administration.
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law on March 28, Disney issued a statement saying it "should never have passed" and said that it should be repealed.
Disney's public condemnation opened a new front in the nation's culture wars, with DeSantis signing a bill on April 22 that would strip the company of its self-governing authority at its Orlando-area parks in apparent retaliation.
The company has yet to issue a statement on the new law, which would take effect on June 1, 2023.
