The Telegraph Reports: We like to imagine that job recruitment is done on the basis of talent, or possibly experience. Not so in the world of Disney. The company, it turns out, has a mind-boggling list of criteria – laid out in its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policy – that managers must bear in mind before making an appointment. 

Recruiting someone who has previously worked on a show is not “inclusive hiring”, the policy states. Half of all producers, writers and contractors must come from underrepresented groups. And recruiters are forbidden from asking candidates about their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, military or veteran status, age, disability – or any other legally protected categories.

The extraordinary policy document – which has been sent to managers on all US and Canadian shows – was released this week not by Disney but by Elon Musk, who claims it was sent to him by an anonymous Disney insider. The owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) has repeatedly slammed DEIs, which have taken over Hollywood in recent years, as being ineffective, counterproductive and tantamount to discrimination, especially against straight, white men.

Taking to X, he posted:

In further posts, he added: “Here is the full racist, sexist, etc discriminatory set of laws enforced by Disney’s DEI Gestapo. No wonder most of their content produced over the past several years has sucked. Just trying to navigate the DEI minefield is going to crush the creative process! It is mandatory, institutionalised racism and sexism!”

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This might have been dismissed as just another Musk provocation had he not then posed with fellow billionaire Nelson Peltz, 81, the father of Nicola. Peltz – who is thought to be worth $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) and has a significant stake in Disney – has himself made headlines for wanting to “restore the magic” to the company and has been linked to efforts to oust its chief, Bob Iger, 72, who is behind the diversity drive.