Writer and Producer Shonda Rhimes Left ABC for Netflix Over Free Disneyland Tickets

Matthew Soberman

shonda_rhimes

Writer and Producer Shonda Rhimes Left ABC for Netflix Over Free Disneyland Tickets

It’s never fun when you’re having pass issues while visiting a Disney park, but for legendary television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes, it was the breaking point that prompted her to leave her longtime home at ABC and move to Netflix.

shonda_rhimes
Photo Credit: Sarah E. Freeman/Grady College

As part of an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, an account of the incident was shared. In 2017, Rhimes, as part of her deal with Disney-owned ABC that gave fans shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” and “Station 19,” had an all-inclusive pass to Disneyland. Not having a partner, she negotiated to receive an additional pass for her nanny, who would take care of her youngest two children. When she was planning to visit The Happiest Place on Earth, Rhimes needed an extra pass for her sister to take her teenage daughter. She was apparently willing to give her pass to her sister had they been transferrable, as she was busy with work and unlikely to be able to go. She then spoke with Disney about another pass, and though they said “we don’t normally do this,” they ultimately granted her request.

On the day her daughters went to Disneyland, only one of the passes worked. Rhimes made a call to a high-level Disney executive in the hopes of resolving the matter, only to be told, “Don’t you have enough?” Following the call, she then called her lawyer with a demand: find a path that would allow her to move to Netflix, or she would hire someone else who could.

By that August, Rhimes signed a multi-year development deal with the streaming service, though she remains an executive producer and writer for her ongoing ABC shows.

Of course, as of yet, nobody is visiting Disneyland, which remains closed while Disney considers legal action over California’s recently-released theme park reopening guidelines, which Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock called “arbitrary” and “unworkable.”

Keep reading WDWNT for more on what’s happening around the Disneyland Resort!

Featured Image: Sarah E. Freeman/Grady College

12 thoughts on “Writer and Producer Shonda Rhimes Left ABC for Netflix Over Free Disneyland Tickets”

  1. I’m sorry, i dont care who you are. You make all this money and already have free tickets for your immediate family. You cant just buy the tickets for your sister? Why would disney owe you extra freebies? We go to disney every year, and pay for it without large salaries. Check the ego

  2. she didn’t make enough money to just BUY the passes or negotiate all these passes for her family members in her contract? (Which I’m sure they would’ve agreed to)

    I buy an AP that I don’t use 80% of the year either – am I allowed to transfer it to my friends and family? No. Rent it out like a time share? No.

    Why should she?

  3. I’ve heard people say that shame on her and that she needs to pay like the rest of us. But damn if it’s true they said “don’t you have enough” that’s just crazy. It’s probably hard to quantify how much money her contributions have made Disney but I’m sure it’s in the millions. I think Walt would’ve let them in.

  4. She pays someone to raise her children but doesn’t want to pay for an extra ticket. This is a super Karen. Her mediocre shows won’t be missed.

  5. That’s the pettiest thing I’ve ever heard, on both ends. They could have just given her the tickets as an employee but if they didn’t, she could just use her millions that they already paid her. Who leaves an entire network bc of Disneyland tickets?

Comments are closed.