Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek on talking to Bob Iger: 'I wouldn't forecast that'

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Former Disney ( DIS ) C-suite bros Bob Chapek and Bob Iger used to travel the world together, visiting theme parks and even breaking the news to Target ( TGT ) that Disney was moving away from DVDs to streaming. They shared family stories, red wine, and laughs. Chapek, the understudy to Iger, the CEO of all CEOs.

Until it all abruptly ended, Chapek said, when Iger announced him as the CEO successor. From there, it was all downhill, according to Chapek, who blames Iger for getting him abruptly ousted the day before a company event.

Chapek said he has not visited Disney since and has not spoken to Iger. He said he is bewildered that Iger had him wiped off Disney's website and in the parks, as if his tenure as CEO never existed.

"I have not seen him or spoken to him since my release. I wouldn't forecast that [us talking] to happen, especially now, but it wasn't going to happen anyway because remember, I don't exist," Chapek said in a new episode of the Power Players with Brian Sozzi podcast on Yahoo Finance (video above; listen in below). "I don't know if it would be productive or not, but you know, I'm a gentleman, and I'll talk to anybody anytime about anything."

Chapek, whose just-released memoir, "Behind the Castle Walls," chronicles his ascent and downfall at Disney, spent nearly three decades at the entertainment giant. He rose from the company's home-video division to lead consumer products and ultimately Disney's massive parks, experiences and products business before succeeding Bob Iger as CEO in February 2020.

He took the top job just as the COVID-19 pandemic slammed Disney's theme parks, movie theaters, and other businesses. At the same time, he pushed a major reorganization and continued the company's aggressive expansion into streaming.

Chapek's tenure became increasingly contentious amid clashes over talent relations and with Iger, then executive chair at Disney.

Despite Disney's board unanimously extending Chapek's contract for three years in June 2022, the board removed him just five months later, on Nov. 20, 2022, and brought Iger back as CEO.

Chapek said he was compelled to write the book to regain control over the narrative about his time at Disney, which he feels Iger badly tarnished.

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Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the Sozzi Unleashed morning show and the Power Players with Brian Sozzi podcast, and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi , Instagram , and LinkedIn . Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.