TO THE DIS TEAM

[CJLove79]

Hey Team, I know that you guys are going through A LOT right now because of Pete's actions. I simply want to give a suggestion/opinion to you guys. If this suggestion was already given, my bad for that. Anyway, here goes, I feel that you guys should do a show that specifically talks about this situation. Putting out statements & such is fine but to see your faces, your body language, etc is way more powerful. Most of us fans totally understand the difficulties in talking to us about this situation. But let's be real here, its simply the right thing to do because we, your fans, have invested a lot in you guys. And I feel that we deserve a show that tackles this head on plus it's a great start to moving on from this. Dustin said his peace head on in a live stream on his YouTube channel, he answered every question honestly & candidly. And it was a beautiful thing seeing how happy & free he was & still himself even after speaking his truth. He also said that he'll be fine & will continue to live his life as he always has since leaving you guys. And you know what? All of us who watched his live stream was very content with what he said, wished him well & that's it. What Dustin did was very courageous because he didn't have to tell us anything, he didn't owe us DIS fans anything. But he chose to talk to us even though he hasn't worked with you guys in several years. So if he can talk to us straight up unfiltered, so can you. Yes, I understand that there's some legal things that you guys needs to adhere to & that's fine But once again, as your fans who've invested a lot into this community for years, you guys owe us a live show to talk to us straight up about your feelings right now while its fresh. And to answer any questions we will have as best as you possibly can. I sincerely wish you guys the best of luck in dealing with this issue. And of course, I look forward to finding out the changes you guys will make in the future. Me personally, I will not judge you on anything you say & or do simply because its not right. What's done was done unfortunately & now its the time for all of us to move on from this as best as we can. Plus, we needs to get back to talking about our love of all things Disney again. I'm not asking for much Team, I simply want you to talk to me & my fellow DIS fans in a powerful live show, that's all. You still have a fan in me.

Sincerely yours,

Your Loyal Fan

 

[nekonekoneko]

I feel that you guys should do a show that specifically talks about this situation.

The big problem with this is if the entire situation ends up in court, you can be sure that there will be lawyers picking apart that show for all its worth.

 

[HakunaMatata89]

Hey Team, I know that you guys are going through A LOT right now because of Pete's actions. I simply want to give a suggestion/opinion to you guys. If this suggestion was already given, my bad for that. Anyway, here goes, I feel that you guys should do a show that specifically talks about this situation. Putting out statements & such is fine but to see your faces, your body language, etc is way more powerful. Most of us fans totally understand the difficulties in talking to us about this situation. But let's be real here, its simply the right thing to do because we, your fans, have invested a lot in you guys. And I feel that we deserve a show that tackles this head on plus it's a great start to moving on from this. Dustin said his peace head on in a live stream on his YouTube channel, he answered every question honestly & candidly. And it was a beautiful thing seeing how happy & free he was & still himself even after speaking his truth. He also said that he'll be fine & will continue to live his life as he always has since leaving you guys. And you know what? All of us who watched his live stream was very content with what he said, wished him well & that's it. What Dustin did was very courageous because he didn't have to tell us anything, he didn't owe us DIS fans anything. But he chose to talk to us even though he hasn't worked with you guys in several years. So if he can talk to us straight up unfiltered, so can you. Yes, I understand that there's some legal things that you guys needs to adhere to & that's fine But once again, as your fans who've invested a lot into this community for years, you guys owe us a live show to talk to us straight up about your feelings right now while its fresh. And to answer any questions we will have as best as you possibly can. I sincerely wish you guys the best of luck in dealing with this issue. And of course, I look forward to finding out the changes you guys will make in the future. Me personally, I will not judge you on anything you say & or do simply because its not right. What's done was done unfortunately & now its the time for all of us to move on from this as best as we can. Plus, we needs to get back to talking about our love of all things Disney again. I'm not asking for much Team, I simply want you to talk to me & my fellow DIS fans in a powerful live show, that's all. You still have a fan in me.

Sincerely yours,

Your Loyal Fan

While I am all for transparency, due to the already filed lawsuits and the potential legal issues from former/current personnel, their lawyers would be disbarred if they haven’t told them to refrain from speaking too deep on the matter. While I’m all for the victims who have come forth, a lot of people have been speaking on why the owners/company haven’t been speaking out and that’s just people who don’t understand that the company is at legal jeopardy over the actions of the owner and therefore any statements they make defensive of the brand or supportive of victims can affect legal consequences. A shm addressing the current situation wouldn’t come for a long time. I’m not a legal expert just someone who has studied crime/legal history for awhile. It’s just common sense

 

[HairyChest]

They don’t owe us anything. We actually owe the team their space & privacy to deal with this horrible situation Pete has put them in. Especially if you care anything about the rest of the team.

Council has probably advised them not to speak on it until its resolved.

However, because their business is very public and customer facing, they need to be prepared for all these questions and comments to keep coming up until they do address it. And if this situation starts cutting into their profitability and customer trust, they will need to say SOMETHING and display their goodfaith (when they do figure it out) to retain their clientele.

It is a tough situation that will require a fine balance. This is a make or break moment for this company and its the moment where the owners (not the team) to come out strong on the side of anti harassment, employee support, morality.

The answer does not have to be about the drama, specifics, or the story. The answer is all about defining the Dis’ guiding principles, their fundamental beliefs, and their values. That’s what’s needed to be stated.

 

[MK2010]

Can a show or segment be done discussing possible changes they are considering to the podcast/environment without discussing (at this time) what led them here? Or can they say on the podcast, "Due to advice of counsel we cannot discuss ongoing legal matters at this time. However, due to recent events moving forward you are likely to see many changes here on the podcast. We are working on creating a more inclusive, encouraging environment and expanding our creative content for you our consumers."

Or would something like that still be so vague that people would STILL be up in arms? I'm just not sure what they can legally say to address this that would also satisfy the vast majority of listeners. (There's always going to be those stirring the pot.)

 

[dvcgirl67]

They don’t owe us anything. We actually owe the team their space & privacy to deal with this horrible situation Pete has put them in. Especially if you care anything about the rest of the team.

Council has probably advised them not to speak on it until its resolved.

However, because their business is very public and customer facing, they need to be prepared for all these questions and comments to keep coming up until they do address it. And if this situation starts cutting into their profitability and customer trust, they will need to say SOMETHING and display their goodfaith (when they do figure it out) to retain their clientele.

It is a tough situation that will require a fine balance. This is a make or break moment for this company and its the moment where the owners (not the team) to come out strong on the side of anti harassment, employee support, morality.

The answer does not have to be about the drama, specifics, or the story. The answer is all about defining the Dis’ guiding principles, their fundamental beliefs, and their values. That’s what’s needed to be stated.

I agree with most of what you've said....except, "the answer does not have to be about the drama, specifics, or the story." I completely understand that the owners have been advised not to discuss the alleged claims made by the two men against Werner, but to retain any good faith from this community (if that even matters to them), the "story" has to be discussed.

It's hard to just dismiss the part about the men's claims of being plied with alcohol/drugs....and sexually assaulted/raped....on Disney property or ABD trips sponsors by DUT. All of this allegedly committed by the man who was literally the "face" of their companies. He was the star of the show.

The way it appeared to me was that Werner had his own fiefdom with The DIS and John and Kevin were happy to let him do his thing....Werner was clearly....a lot. But they also had to have seen the line of young men coming in, having relationships with Werner, then exiting stage right after a period of awkwardness for the whole team. That's a super toxic environment to be subjected to on a daily basis for all involved. I believe that they knew Werner was a ticking time bomb....and it was just a matter of time until something happened. Did they know about the assaults...I don't know, but it has to be addressed.

There's that other board...which I hadn't heard of before, and there are a lot of really upset people over there. Some of them have been banned from here. The one really great thing I saw over there was Dustin's live you tube....and he was open and honest about his experience and gave off a real "love and light" kind of vibe. On the other side over here...it's....really dark...tone deaf, and obtuse. I get that the timing was awful, but this whole thing goes down and they're off to Disneyland. We all know that was planned, but then some of them posted content....and that's just a bit much.

As you said, their business is very public and customer facing, and very open to comments/chat with respect to the Boards and You Tube channel. I honestly think they need to be bring in a Crisis Management expert to guide them because they'll be deluged with negative comments on those outlets until some of the issues are addressed. To say that the way they've handled things so far is "bad for business" would be a huge understatement.

 

[TheGayGeek]

I agree with most of what you've said....except, "the answer does not have to be about the drama, specifics, or the story." I completely understand that the owners have been advised not to discuss the alleged claims made by the two men against Werner, but to retain any good faith from this community (if that even matters to them), the "story" has to be discussed.

It's hard to just dismiss the part about the men's claims of being plied with alcohol/drugs....and sexually assaulted/raped....on Disney property or ABD trips sponsors by DUT. All of this allegedly committed by the man who was literally the "face" of their companies. He was the star of the show.

The way it appeared to me was that Werner had his own fiefdom with The DIS and John and Kevin were happy to let him do his thing....Werner was clearly....a lot. But they also had to have seen the line of young men coming in, having relationships with Werner, then exiting stage right after a period of awkwardness for the whole team. That's a super toxic environment to be subjected to on a daily basis for all involved. I believe that they knew Werner was a ticking time bomb....and it was just a matter of time until something happened. Did they know about the assaults...I don't know, but it has to be addressed.

There's that other board...which I hadn't heard of before, and there are a lot of really upset people over there. Some of them have been banned from here. The one really great thing I saw over there was Dustin's live you tube....and he was open and honest about his experience and gave off a real "love and light" kind of vibe. On the other side over here...it's....really dark...tone deaf, and obtuse. I get that the timing was awful, but this whole thing goes down and they're off to Disneyland. We all know that was planned, but then some of them posted content....and that's just a bit much.

As you said, their business is very public and customer facing, and very open to comments/chat with respect to the Boards and You Tube channel. I honestly think they need to be bring in a Crisis Management expert to guide them because they'll be deluged with negative comments on those outlets until some of the issues are addressed. To say that the way they've handled things so far is "bad for business" would be a huge understatement.

This is the best I've seen it articulated on the site.

 

[HairyChest]

I agree with most of what you've said....except, "the answer does not have to be about the drama, specifics, or the story." I completely understand that the owners have been advised not to discuss the alleged claims made by the two men against Werner, but to retain any good faith from this community (if that even matters to them), the "story" has to be discussed.

It's hard to just dismiss the part about the men's claims of being plied with alcohol/drugs....and sexually assaulted/raped....on Disney property or ABD trips sponsors by DUT. All of this allegedly committed by the man who was literally the "face" of their companies. He was the star of the show.

The way it appeared to me was that Werner had his own fiefdom with The DIS and John and Kevin were happy to let him do his thing....Werner was clearly....a lot. But they also had to have seen the line of young men coming in, having relationships with Werner, then exiting stage right after a period of awkwardness for the whole team. That's a super toxic environment to be subjected to on a daily basis for all involved. I believe that they knew Werner was a ticking time bomb....and it was just a matter of time until something happened. Did they know about the assaults...I don't know, but it has to be addressed.

There's that other board...which I hadn't heard of before, and there are a lot of really upset people over there. Some of them have been banned from here. The one really great thing I saw over there was Dustin's live you tube....and he was open and honest about his experience and gave off a real "love and light" kind of vibe. On the other side over here...it's....really dark...tone deaf, and obtuse. I get that the timing was awful, but this whole thing goes down and they're off to Disneyland. We all know that was planned, but then some of them posted content....and that's just a bit much.

As you said, their business is very public and customer facing, and very open to comments/chat with respect to the Boards and You Tube channel. I honestly think they need to be bring in a Crisis Management expert to guide them because they'll be deluged with negative comments on those outlets until some of the issues are addressed. To say that the way they've handled things so far is "bad for business" would be a huge understatement.

You misunderstood me. Of course their story should not be dismissed. Im talking about RIGHT NOW, where they are advised not to discuss the story until the legalities settle, they HAVE TO talk about their values & commitment to their employees AND community.

 

[rwalraven8]

Hey Team, I know that you guys are going through A LOT right now because of Pete's actions. I simply want to give a suggestion/opinion to you guys. If this suggestion was already given, my bad for that. Anyway, here goes, I feel that you guys should do a show that specifically talks about this situation. Putting out statements & such is fine but to see your faces, your body language, etc is way more powerful. Most of us fans totally understand the difficulties in talking to us about this situation. But let's be real here, its simply the right thing to do because we, your fans, have invested a lot in you guys. And I feel that we deserve a show that tackles this head on plus it's a great start to moving on from this. Dustin said his peace head on in a live stream on his YouTube channel, he answered every question honestly & candidly. And it was a beautiful thing seeing how happy & free he was & still himself even after speaking his truth. He also said that he'll be fine & will continue to live his life as he always has since leaving you guys. And you know what? All of us who watched his live stream was very content with what he said, wished him well & that's it. What Dustin did was very courageous because he didn't have to tell us anything, he didn't owe us DIS fans anything. But he chose to talk to us even though he hasn't worked with you guys in several years. So if he can talk to us straight up unfiltered, so can you. Yes, I understand that there's some legal things that you guys needs to adhere to & that's fine But once again, as your fans who've invested a lot into this community for years, you guys owe us a live show to talk to us straight up about your feelings right now while its fresh. And to answer any questions we will have as best as you possibly can. I sincerely wish you guys the best of luck in dealing with this issue. And of course, I look forward to finding out the changes you guys will make in the future. Me personally, I will not judge you on anything you say & or do simply because its not right. What's done was done unfortunately & now its the time for all of us to move on from this as best as we can. Plus, we needs to get back to talking about our love of all things Disney again. I'm not asking for much Team, I simply want you to talk to me & my fellow DIS fans in a powerful live show, that's all. You still have a fan in me.

Sincerely yours,

Your Loyal Fan

Do you have a link to the youtube channel you mention in this post? Thank you.

 

[dvcgirl67]

You misunderstood me. Of course their story should not be dismissed. Im talking about RIGHT NOW, where they are advised not to discuss the story until the legalities settle, they HAVE TO talk about their values & commitment to their employees AND community.

Sorry if I misunderstood you. I’ll guess we’ll see if they do. I always saw their team as more progressive…especially with so many in the LGBTQ community on their team. The response thus far seems very, well…conservative. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Do you have a link to the youtube channel you mention in this post? Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/live/gvjh48BnSek?feature=share

 

[GeneralTso]

The way it appeared to me was that Werner had his own fiefdom with The DIS and John and Kevin were happy to let him do his thing....Werner was clearly....a lot. But they also had to have seen the line of young men coming in, having relationships with Werner, then exiting stage right after a period of awkwardness for the whole team. That's a super toxic environment to be subjected to on a daily basis for all involved. I believe that they knew Werner was a ticking time bomb....and it was just a matter of time until something happened. Did they know about the assaults...I don't know, but it has to be addressed.

Truer words!!!!!!
All this speculation about did they/didn't they (John/Kevin/Corey/Ryno/Craig) know is being hammered out in so many threads. We may never know. But data is just data. Information without emotion. The data is there and how people choose to act on it remains to be seen.

Also, having a show specifically addressing this nightmare is one of the dumbest legal moves the company could make.

I believe the best first step is to hire a crisis management person/team to handle all of this. John and Kevin botched it. Corey is hailed as the "adult in the room" but people just love him anyway. He did however issue a very good statement and hit helped mop up the mess from the previous day from John's statement.
There are actual TRAINED professionals that do this for a living, it's their literal J.O.B. to help guide people through PR nightmares and crisis. The Dis needs one of these people yesterday. Whatever it costs it'll be worth every penny.

No one knows how this will play out. The priority is that the known victims continue to heal and move forward despite the trauma inflicted on them. There are others, I guarantee. These are the brave few who spoke up. To those that haven't....maybe you never will make yourself known but we see you.

Let's give the team time to hit pause, breathe and think thoughtfully about what to do. They don't know. They are doing their best. Sometimes someone's best isn't good enough. Allow them the space to figure this out. It's a massive mess with so many implications at different levels for each of them.

For the love of churros, let this all end with a decent outcome however that may look.

 

[CJLove79]

All you guys made very valid points & I respect and honor all of them. The legal aspect of it all is something I made sure to factor in & acknowledge because I know that they have to be calculated in what they say on video. But I still feel that we as fans should get something, in principle, on video. Yes, they definitely deserve & are entitled to privacy, space, time, etc, that goes without saying. But I still feel that they should talk to us, on a live show, hopefully soon, as best as they can, within whatever legal parameters that's set. Once again, a statement is cool, that's a start. But at the same time, seeing, hearing, feeling their thoughts about all this, on video, will be even more powerful. They don't have to tell us every gory detail of course. I was asking & suggesting that they be as open as they possibly can with us on a show. At the end of the day, this situation is hard for everybody, more so for the people directly involved but also us fans, customers, etc. Either way, I can't wait till this situation passes on & we embark on a new era of the DIS.