Disney recently announced a sweeping new partnership with OpenAI, and it’s already igniting major backlash from Hollywood labor groups, with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) accusing the entertainment giant of effectively endorsing the theft of their creative work.
The controversy erupted following Disney’s announcement of a multi-year licensing and investment agreement with OpenAI—an arrangement that places Disney, OpenAI, and the WGA on a collision course over the future of creative labor in the AI era.
Bob Iger and the OpenAI logo – Photo Credit: CNBC Television YouTube; OpenAI
READ: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dominates the Game Awards With Historic Game of the Year Win
At the center of the dispute is Disney’s decision to license more than 200 characters from across its vast portfolio—including Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm properties—while also committing $1 billion in equity investment to OpenAI. Under the deal, OpenAI’s Sora and ChatGPT Images platforms will be able to generate user-prompted, “fan-inspired” videos featuring licensed Disney characters beginning in early 2026.
WGA Accuses Disney and Open AI of Undermining Writers’ Work
In a sharply worded message sent to its members, the WGA condemned the deal in unusually blunt terms, arguing that Disney’s OpenAI partnership appears to legitimize practices the union has long opposed.
“Disney’s announcement with OpenAI appears to sanction its theft of our work and cedes the value of what we create to a tech company that has built its business off our backs,” the union said.
Anna, Elsa, and Olaf in A Frozen Holiday Wish – Disney+
The WGA also claimed that it intends to meet directly with Disney leadership to scrutinize the agreement, including how user-generated AI videos may rely on material created by WGA members.
“We will meet with Disney to probe the terms of this deal, including the extent to which user-generated videos use the work of WGA members,” they said.
Hei Hei in the live action Moana – YouTube, Disney
The WGA further reiterated its longstanding position that AI companies—including OpenAI—have already ingested vast libraries of copyrighted material without consent to train their systems.
“Companies including OpenAI have stolen vast libraries of works owned by the studios and created by WGA members and Hollywood labor to train their artificial intelligence systems,” the union said.
Disney Draws a Legal Line—But Not Everyone Is Convinced
Disney, for its part, insists that the agreement contains strict safeguards. According to the company, OpenAI is not permitted to use Disney intellectual property to train its AI models, nor does the deal include talent likenesses or voices.
Nick Wilde and Jusy Hopps in police uniforms in Zootopia 2 – YouTube, Disney
That assurance, however, has done little to mollify critics—particularly given Disney’s own recent legal posture against other tech firms. Just days before announcing the OpenAI partnership, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google accusing the company’s AI platforms of facilitating copyright infringement “on a massive scale.”
The apparent contradiction has not gone unnoticed.
Aurora in Sleeping Beauty – Disney+
While the WGA publicly praised Disney’s action against Google, it questioned why similar concerns seem to evaporate when a lucrative AI investment is on the table.
SAG-AFTRA Takes a Cautious—but Watchful—Stance
SAG-AFTRA has stopped short of outright condemnation but signaled that it is monitoring the situation closely.
“SAG-AFTRA will closely monitor the deal and its implementation to ensure compliance with our contracts and with applicable laws protecting image, voice and likeness,” they said.
Kylo Ren in the Star Wars Sequels – Disney+
READ: The Rock Scores First Golden Globes Nomination for The Smashing Machine
The actors’ union emphasized that it has engaged in months of discussions with OpenAI regarding safeguards for performers, and acknowledged assurances from both Disney and OpenAI that contractual and legal obligations will be honored.
Still, SAG-AFTRA also issued a broader warning, stating that current AI guardrails remain insufficient and must be strengthened across the industry.
OpenAI Frames Deal as “Responsible AI”
OpenAI responded to the criticism by portraying the agreement as a model for collaboration between technology companies and the entertainment industry.
White Vision in WandaVision – Disney+
“This is a landmark agreement because it shows how AI companies and the creative industry can work together to establish meaningful standards for responsible AI in entertainment,” the company said.
Whether that framing holds up remains an open question—particularly as labor groups continue to argue that AI systems are fundamentally built on uncompensated creative labor.
Does the WGA Have a Point — or Are They Grasping at Straws?
The answer is more complicated than either side would like to admit: the WGA has a legitimate concern, but its rhetoric overstates Disney’s direct culpability.
On the substance, the Writers Guild is not wrong to argue that modern generative AI systems were trained during a period when copyright law simply had not caught up with large-scale data scraping. It’s widely understood — and increasingly acknowledged in court filings — that early AI models ingested vast amounts of copyrighted material without licensing or compensation.
The Disney logo with a Tron Ares Overlay – YouTube, Disney
That reality gives the WGA a reasonable basis to argue that today’s AI tools are built, at least in part, on uncompensated creative labor.
Where the union’s argument gains traction is optics. Disney has recently taken an aggressive stance against Google, accusing its AI platforms of enabling copyright infringement “on a massive scale.” Yet at the same time, Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and licensing hundreds of its own characters for AI-generated content. Even if the OpenAI agreement includes safeguards going forward, it still rewards a company whose foundational models were trained before those guardrails existed. From a labor perspective, that contradiction is difficult to ignore.
Jared Leto as Ares in Tron Ares – YouTube, Disney
However, calling the Disney–OpenAI deal itself an act that “sanctions theft” stretches the claim beyond what the contract actually does. Disney did not train OpenAI’s models, did not authorize past data collection, and explicitly prohibits OpenAI from using Disney intellectual property for training purposes under the agreement. That makes the charge more political than legal.
In reality, the WGA’s escalation reflects timing as much as principle. Writers have recently secured AI-related language in their contracts, but studios are now racing to lock in long-term AI partnerships. The union’s leverage is strongest now, before those deals become industry norms. As a result, the language is intentionally maximalist — designed to pressure Disney publicly rather than describe the agreement with precision.
Warner Bros. icon Bugs Bunny and Disney icon Mickey Mouse in a screenshot from Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Disney+
Ultimately, this dispute is less about whether Disney broke the law and more about who controls the future value of storytelling. The WGA is right to be alarmed about AI’s trajectory, but its attack on Disney conflates legitimate long-term concerns with a deal that is, at least on paper, legally structured to avoid the very abuses the union fears.
A Flashpoint for Hollywood’s AI Future
Beyond the immediate dispute, the Disney OpenAI WGA clash highlights a deeper fault line in Hollywood. Studios are increasingly eager to monetize AI tools, while writers and performers fear a future in which their work is diluted, automated, or devalued.
Disney’s Pre-School Avengers assembling – Disney
With Disney now financially tied to OpenAI, labor negotiations around artificial intelligence are likely to grow more contentious—not less. The outcome of this standoff could shape how AI is deployed across film, television, and streaming for years to come.
For now, Disney finds itself in an awkward position: championing intellectual property protection on one front while investing heavily in a technology that many creators believe threatens the very foundation of their work.
Do you think the WGA is right to speak out against Disney and OpenAI? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
“major backlash from Hollywood labor groups, with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) ”
I guess going on strike was not such a great idea. Woke writers are easily replaced by an AI robot sweatshop hosted in China.
Ditto the woke artists, the woke animators, woke, fugly actresses… you get the idea.
I’d be so happy if everyone, every last bit me failed due to this brave new ai world.
I despise the present c-suite leadership.
I despise the present lower level disney exec. putting their stamp on the film.
I primarily despise the tribal leader, presently having the reigns on a normally, Protestant entertainment division.
Get them out of entertainment.
(By saying what I just ds puts me n a list, that’s only collected by the worst villains in life.
All from the same………….. tribe.
We’ll never be free again.ellison is from said…… tribe.
Everyone hates Kanye. But only because he was on to something.