Ben Smith Says Bob Chapek Overstated Iger Email in Disney Power Struggle

Journalist Ben Smith has argued that former Disney chief executive Bob Chapek inflated the significance of a brief email from Bob Iger, which Smith published in March 2020. The email, sent as the pandemic disrupted Disney’s operations, said Iger would "actively help Bob [Chapek] and the company contend with it" because of his 15-year tenure as CEO. Smith’s article, titled “Bob Iger Thought He Was Leaving on Top. Now, He’s Fighting for Disney’s Life,” was later cited as a turning point in the relationship between the two executives.

Smith, who had just joined The New York Times, wrote that his reporting created a perception that Iger was trying to undermine his successor. He later said the story was not a “devious plant” and that Iger’s response consisted of only a few short emails.

"When [Iger] did the interview with Ben Smith where he essentially reasserted himself as CEO that was as big a sign as possible of an attempt to undermine me," Chapek told the Wall Street Journal.

Smith maintains that Chapek’s later characterisation of the exchange overstated its impact on their working relationship. Chapek, who is promoting his forthcoming memoir "Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth," said the book aims to present his version of events and that he holds no personal grievance against Iger, only disagreement over Iger’s actions to regain control of Disney.

The memoir, co-written with Don Yaeger, is scheduled for release on September 29, 2026 and includes Chapek’s defense of recent Disney Parks price increases and credit for executive Josh D’Amaro’s promotion.