Company poaching by no means goes over effectively with Disney & even much less so after they lose a key exec like Justin Connolly to the likes of the ever dominating YouTube Which implies, after 20 years on the Walt Disney Firm in numerous capacities, and a 2024 inked new employment contract, presumed lifer Connolly is discovering his sudden segue to the Google-owned social media and on-line video sharing platform a bit bumpier than anticipated.
Make that preliminary injunction and maybe everlasting injunction bumpy.
In a brief however sharp breach of contract go well with filed Wednesday in LA Superior Court docket, the Home of Mouse need the courts to cease their up till not too long ago president of Disney Platform Distribution from having the ability to begin his newly created gig as YouTube’s world head of media and sports activities.
Sports activities or no sports activities, Disney are insisting that the principles are not any sport.
“In April 2025, Disney turned conscious of YouTube’s provide of employment to Connolly,” says the go well with towards the exec and the video platform filed by heavyweight employment legislation agency Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp on Could 21 in DTLA.
“This information got here at a essential time in Connolly’s tenure as President of Platform Distribution for Disney. Disney is within the midst of a number of essential product launches and renegotiation of a few of its largest distribution offers, and Connolly has been the architect of Disney’s distribution technique and its principal negotiator,” Disney declares within the breach of contract, tortious interference and unfair competitors motion. “Critically, Connolly leads the Disney crew negotiating a license renewal with YouTube. Connolly has intimate information of Disney’s different distribution offers, the monetary particulars regarding Disney’s content material being licensed to YouTube, and Disney’s negotiation methods, each basically and particularly with respect to YouTube.”
Or to place it within the starkest of Magic Kingdom phrases: “It could be extraordinarily prejudicial to Disney for Connolly to breach the contract which he negotiated just some months in the past and swap groups when Disney is engaged on a brand new licensing take care of the corporate that’s making an attempt to poach him.”
Disney declined to touch upon the lawsuit when contacted by Deadline at this time, and YouTube didn’t reply.
On this C-suite sport of govt chairs, Connolly exited his Disney publish after twenty years final Friday, simply as the corporate, because it makes clear in its BOC go well with, was nearing a consequential collection of negotiations. Connolly was to have performed a central position in talks with distribution companions for ESPN‘s forthcoming stand-alone streamer and likewise, paradoxically, carriage renewal talks with YouTube TV. The businesses’ present settlement expires later this 12 months.
In actual fact, the exec was one in all a number of senior leaders at ESPN and Disney to attend a media briefing final week about ESPN’s streaming technique. When he circulated a memo later that week saying his departure, it reportedly took staff without warning given he had not too long ago re-upped his contract.
Exposing that Connolly’s now previous position and obligations at Disney was of a “particular, distinctive, uncommon, extraordinary, or mental character, which supplies them peculiar worth,” the corporate was taken the position of the injured social gathering right here not disingenuously at first look.
“As a direct and proximate results of Connolly’s breach of the Employment Settlement, Disney has been harmed and can proceed to be harmed,” the Bob Iger-run media colossus asserts of their submitting. “Connolly threatens to, and except restrained, will proceed to breach the Employment Settlement, to Disney and its associates’ nice and irreparable damage, for which damages wouldn’t afford ample aid, in that they might not utterly compensate for Disney’s accidents.”
