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The comedian named Walt Disney as one of his influences, but said that "now Disney is run by a guy that’s just a businessman."
Nate Bargatze doesn’t appear to be Bob Iger‘s biggest fan.
The comedian was recently asked during an interview for Esquire‘s latest cover story who his biggest influences are. He responded with four people: Jerry Seinfeld, Judd Apatow, Adam Sandler and Walt Disney.
Bargatze later clarified that he was referring to the person, not the mass media and entertainment conglomerate, because he believes Walt Disney cared about what he created and his customers. However, he couldn’t say the same about the current Disney head.
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“Now Disney is run by a guy that’s just a businessman,” he said, seemingly referring to Iger. “Well, that guy doesn’t care about the audience.”
Bargatze acknowledged that “none of this happens without them.”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Bargatze’s rep for clarification, and Iger’s rep for comment.
Whether it’s his stand-up comedy career or his recent shift into Hollywood with his family-friendly content company, Nateland Entertainment, Bargatze has always been considerate of his viewers, making sure not to alienate an audience.
“I don’t want anybody to feel bad or uncomfortable,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in December. “It would break my heart if someone thought that I thought I’m better than them. And I want to be for everybody. I mean, that’s the goal.”
The comedian continued, “I grew up eating at chain restaurants and going to Walmart — I’m on board with selling everything to everybody. A lot of times people will be more like, ‘My comedy isn’t for everybody,’ and there’s a pride in that, but it just never clicked for me. I was always like, ‘Why would you not want everybody to come to your show?'”
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