Hollywood's DEI Efforts Fade in Trump's Second Term

In recent years, Hollywood has faced a significant shift in its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). After a brief push for greater representation following the racial reckoning in 2020, the entertainment industry has seen a notable decline in DEI efforts. The change began when the new administration took office. The U. S. attorney general was tasked with investigating private-sector DEI programs, which were seen as discriminatory. This move was followed by the Federal Communications Commission launching a probe into Comcast Corp. , the owner of NBCUniversal. These actions sent a clear message to Hollywood: DEI initiatives were under scrutiny. Companies like Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Walt Disney Co. responded swiftly. Paramount Global dropped staffing goals related to gender, race, ethnicity, and sex. Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded its DEI activities as simply "inclusion, " and Disney scrapped a "diversity and inclusion" performance standard used to calculate executive compensation. Disney also removed a trans athlete storyline from its Pixar animated series “Win or Lose. ” The backpedaling didn't stop there. In 2023, several high-level media and entertainment executives in charge of diversity efforts resigned or were pushed out. This raised concerns that companies were treating DEI goals as a passing fad. The U. S. Supreme Court's decision to gut race-based affirmative action in college admissions further complicated the situation. The impact of these changes is evident in the latest UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report. Actors of color accounted for 25. 2% of lead roles in the top theatrical films of 2024, down from 29. 2% in 2023. The number of films directed by people of color also dropped in 2024 compared with 2023. Directors of color accounted for 20. 2% of 2024 movies, down from 22. 9% for the prior year. The reduction in DEI roles in the film and TV industry outpaced the general decrease in employment. This trend is part of a broader economic retrenchment in the entertainment sector, which has seen significant overspending during the so-called streaming wars. Diversity initiatives are often among the first things cut in such situations, despite executives often touting diversity and representation as good for business. The most cynical view is that Hollywood was never genuinely committed to DEI. The people and programs put in place to advance such goals weren’t given the authority necessary to produce real change. The most generous interpretation is that many recent changes to internal policies are surface-level. Some industry insiders believe that companies are still working on DEI but are doing so quietly. On the other hand, studios are not shy about trying to cater more to red-state viewers. This includes avoiding topics that provoke conservatives and highlighting content that appeals to a broader audience. A&E has announced a “Duck Dynasty” revival, and Amazon is bringing episodes of Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice” to Prime Video. “Shifting Gears, ” the latest sitcom from Trump admirer Tim Allen, is a hit for Disney-owned ABC. In the end, Hollywood is reverting to what it knows best: producing content that appeals to a wide audience. The industry's approach to DEI may have shifted, but the core of its business remains unchanged.