Nate Bargatze Thinks Disney ‘Doesn’t Care About the Audience’

Nate Bargatze, the up-and-coming comedian tapped to entertain the Emmys audience in the fall, doesn’t think the powers that be at Disney care all that much about theirs.

In an interview with Esquire, Bargatze was asked about who his biggest career influences were. He quickly rattled off four names: Jerry Seinfeld, Judd Apatow, Adam Sandler and Walt Disney – but that last one came with a caveat.

The comedian explained that while he thought Disney the man cared for the customers and fans of his product and stories, he did not think the current heads of Disney felt the same way.

“Now Disney is run by a guy that’s just a businessman,” Bargatze said. “Well, that guy doesn’t care about the audience.”

While he doesn’t name names, he is almost certainly talking about current Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Bargatze does not seem afraid of ruffling feathers as he continues a banner year. He was tapped to host the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards in the fall. His first feature film “The Breadwinner” also recently locking in a 2026 release date. All this has the comedian looking to step out of the comedy spotlight and onto the big screen in the not to distant future.

“The next special will be on Netflix,” he told The New York Times in April. “I could see maybe one more special after that. I don’t want to overstay my welcome. I also want to get out of the way. I need to let the next wave of comedians come up. I got this tour and then maybe one more.”

Bargatze expanded on his plans to get into more movies.

“I don’t plan on touring and doing stand-up forever. I want to make movies,” he said. “People can think, If you get too big, are you going to change? The audience is very much in mind with everything that I will make. Again, I try not to do it for me. It’s for you. I want them to be able to trust that.”

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