The Dis Unplugged #5 Stay Out of the Damn Employees

[Anniebee]

Shocking stuff. You are truly courageous Dustin, I hope this a cathartic experience for you

 

[The Mando]

I’d like to flesh out my story a little bit and give even more context. I ultimately decided to share here because I felt the overwhelming majority of folks are simply looking for the truth. While I see some judgement and criticism, I understand that when people are in the public eye, I know that’s part of the deal. We can’t grow without constructive criticism.

I know that I’m by no means %100 innocent in anything that happens in my life. I’m not a passenger or some audience member watching my life happen around me. I’m an active participant. I’ll happily take responsibility for any actions that may have led me to make poor decisions. But we also need to find a common ground of what constitutes predatory behavior.

What is taking advantage of? What is inappropriate for an employer to do with an employee? There’s such subtlety in our society when it comes to these things. Movements like MeToo are trying to break walls down and define what’s right and wrong.

I’m simply hoping to find some definitive personal boundaries in MY story. I’m hoping to share my perspective of what I went through and what I deem appropriate for my life. Your mileage may vary and I don’t intend to fight back with you about those things. Let’s get started…

I’m sad to say that I too can look back on these years and realize I was never in love with Pete. I knew even then I was not attracted to him. I had never been attracted to men anyways. Some of you may wonder what my sexuality is. I’ll be open about it. I’ve always identified as a straight man.

After finding myself in a relationship with Pete, it was undeniable to me that I must be somewhere else in the broad spectrum of sexuality. I’m not on the 100% side of being completely straight. Maybe 90%? I don’t even really identify as Bi. I don’t ever really find other men attractive and I’m very happily married to my amazing wife. All I know is that this moment in my life happened and I have no intentions of denying it. Do with that what you will.

I was also not in it for the money or the travel or the opportunities. Those things were great at the beginning. But they were not why I stayed. Looking back, I realize I was paid enough to pay rent and have a decent apartment with decent things. And Pete did pay for nice dinners, travel, and fun electronics. However, most of it was work related and like I said before, the cathartic selling of all of it at my local pawn shop proved to me that those things only ever tied me down.

So why did this relationship ever start? I’m not attracted to men. I’m not money hungry. What happened? I was vulnerable, young, naïve, and at the time a chronic people pleaser. Let’s rewind a few months before I moved to Florida in the summer of 2011.

It’s April 2011 and I’m at an emotional high. My college, VCU, has just made history by going to the Final Four in the NCAA championships. I’m a senior about to graduate from the film program and I have a great group of friends. One of my good friends devised a way for me and him to move in together in Orlando with the goal being to work full-time at Walt Disney World. Then just before graduation, I get a phone call.

My best friend from childhood (we were born 10 days apart and inseparable from then on) had just died in a house fire, alongside his newlywed wife and their poor little cat. I was devastated and depressed to say the least. I had lost a brother. We had gone to different schools, so we grew apart over the course of those 4 years or so. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I went from absolute high to basically rock bottom.

I graduated and me and my other friend still planned on living in Orlando together. That plan was in motion. But now it has become an escape. I escaped Virginia and all the pain that was there. Sadly, I also left everyone there without me. Looking back, I wonder how many of them wanted me to stay or needed me.

I started working full-time at Disney. I was enjoying my job there at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was dating here and there. Life was seemingly better. One of the things I did to distract myself was listen to the DISUnplugged. I had been listening since basically the beginning. I always thought to myself that the show could easily be made into a video show. I saw that things were going in that direction for other podcasts. I also felt they could use an upgrade in their video presence in general. Ride throughs, media events, etc..

I listened out for any opportunities where the team was doing meets in the parks and I eventually met several members of the team. Eventually I connected with Corey and he hired me to do a freelance video of the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the Fall of 2011. This was all intentional. I made myself known to the team and I was eager to help their website. I wanted to be a part of the team. I wanted them to be my friends.

The first time I ever met Pete in person was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter DISApalooza in December 2011. He was smoking a cigarette in the smoking section. I joined him and talked to him about the video I shot for them. It was a short conversation that apparently he has no recollection of. But nonetheless I think this helped put me on his radar.

This all led up to the Disney Fantasy media sailing. This was meant to be my tryout. If I nailed this, there was the idea that I’d get a full-time position with the DIS. It was a success and I was offered a full-time position as their Director of Video and New Media. I cannot remember exact numbers but my starting salary was somewhere in the $30,000s. By the way, this was actually an upgrade from Walt Disney World.

At the start, I was working from my own home like anyone else in the company would. I had invested in setting up my own little office area. I was covering media events and special parties. But then came time to start working on the video show. This involved working out of Pete’s home for a large amount of time. I was installing equipment in the studio (two bedrooms with the wall knocked out), going on shopping trips at Best-Buy and Sam Ash, and working on the floor plan. I had set up shop kind of temporarily there and most of my days were spent there.

Around this same time. Pete’ personal friend from back in New Jersey, Kevin (a different one) had reappeared in his life. I remember the two of them having private conversations like they were two teenagers in high school. Sometimes giggling, sometimes Kevin reassuring Pete while he was crying. I wasn’t allowed in the office during those times. Those were private moments.

Then one day during all of this, I get called into the office. Pete comes clean to me about how he has feelings for me. I assume spending all that time together at his house sped this process up. We got along great when there was no external pressure. I thought to myself at times that I was working for a really funny person who understood my passions and we had a great collaborative relationship.

So when he told me, he asked if that would be an issue for me. I said no. Again I had this great working relationship and I foolishly thought I could work around the knowledge of my boss having a crush on me. I say “crush” cause that’s what it felt like. He and Kevin going off and giggling or gossiping. Kevin pulled me to the side and tried to give me advice. I now know that this was all a manipulation. I’m confident he sent Kevin to talk to me, become my friend, get information about how I really felt. It was all very high school-esque.

I was somehow able to manage to keep things separated for a few months. By October 2012, we were off to London and Paris for a private Adventures by Disney tour hosted by Dreams Unlimited Travel. Of course, during this adventure we were sharing a room the whole time, to help reduce the costs and occupancy of the trip. This had happened before during some hotel reviews and I was never fully comfortable with it, especially after he had told me he had feelings for me.

So just to push pause for a second. I want you to remember that I’m very vulnerable. I’ve lost my best friend and I’m desperately trying to find a new friend, a new group, a new family here in Orlando. I find a person who’s great to work with, our personalities mesh pretty well, and we’re having fun. He tells me he has feelings, but I don’t want to lose the friendship and I don’t want to lose the job. I’ve made it very clear that I don’t have feelings, but I’m willing to put up with the awkwardness to continue doing my dream. Right now, the happiness to misery ratio is probably 85 happy to 15 miserable (on the sliding scale.)

We’re in London. Almost immediately into this trip, he uses a brand new phrase: “Emotional Relationship.” I find the timing interesting. He was OK existing as is back at home. The minute we're overseas, far from home, he has a conversation with me TELLING me that we’re not friends. How could we be? The way we work together and the laughter and fun. He TELLS me this is an emotional relationship. There’s no physical touch, but this definitely isn’t a friendship.

I’m secluded. I can’t drive home. I have to go to the same hotel room every night with this man for 2 weeks. I have no escape. Then he brings up this new development to the relationship. I push back at every instance. He cries and misses out on several parts of the adventure. I have to cover for him by the way; coming up with excuses for his absence (this became a recurring theme that even Sean has pointed out.)

At some point in the trip, during one of our multiple hours-long late-night conversations… I cave. I admit that logically I can see that this is more than just a friendship. There’s something special here. Never in my heart did I think it was romantic. But he latches on to my acknowledgement like I’ve never seen before.

All of a sudden, the trip wasn't so bad. Nothing has changed internally for me really. I’m able to enjoy myself. I feel like I acknowledged his feelings after very long intensive grill sessions… and we can move on.

On one of the nights, we were in London, I was asleep in my bed. There were two full/queen beds during this trip (thank God.) Pete had gotten pretty upset with me. I was late for a podcast recording in London. Everything ultimately went fine, but I had gotten held up at the London Eye with John and Kevin and the rest of the group. That experience was on our Itinerary, and I still don’t fully understand why he was upset that day. Pete went to bed upset and I went to sleep pretty tipsy (after hours of deep conversation and telling me why and how I can be better.) I woke up groggy to this man on his knees, next to my bed, reaching under my sheets and touching me inappropriately.

I didn’t know what to do, so I pretended to be asleep, shake him off me, and roll over into the opposite direction. I was now wide awake in the bed, pretending to be asleep. I think realized he almost got caught. He went back to his bed. I never mentioned this encounter to him ever again.

What should have I done? Confront him right there? Yes. I know that now. I’ve had over 10 years to relive this moment. This moment set the stage for how I approached the next 3 years. That sliding scale of misery I mentioned earlier… we’re sliding now. Sliding further and further down.

Initially I had shame. Shame that a man had touched me. Forgive me, but I grew up in a society where it was taboo to be gay even though I never felt that way personally. On top of that, I never identified as gay or even curious. Who could I tell? If I told anyone, they’d tell me what I was doing was wrong, they’d tell me to give up my entire dream or they might kill this man .

The shame, guilt, and the desire to hide this friendship/emotional relationship/relationship was what fueled everything. I couldn’t tell my family. Strike #1. Pete used my shame to guilt me further and further down the path of a relationship. He might say things like “How could I have let things like this happen if I wasn’t into it?” So that’s Strike #2. My friends and co-workers knew parts of it but I was hiding most of it. The balancing act that built for another 3 years eventually tipped that misery scale to 100% into the opposite direction.

This is just the beginning. This is the "why." This is only less than a year into working at the DIS. I’m leading a double/triple life. I’m lying to friends and family and pleasing the one person who gave me the ultimate piece of bait dangling from the hook. He could be my real friend. Something I had so recently lost.

The next few years played out on screen for a lot of people. After reading this, I challenge you to go back and watch my smile being forced through my teeth. I’ll continue the story. There’s so much more to dive into. It doesn’t end here.

This is so similar to what happened to me. Right before Italy, I told Pete I didn’t love him and didn’t wanna be with him and he begged me to still come on the trip ‘as his friend’ and when i did, he woke me up in the middle of the first night screaming and crying (I was sleeping on the couch) and begging me to sleep in the bed with him and that he was lonely. I went to the bed, he talked to me and cried and told me I was ‘denying’ my feelings for him and that if I didn’t love him, I never would’ve come on the trip. (Despite him saying for me to come as his friend and he’s also my employer saying I need to come on a work function) - I told him I did not feel that same way and that i only came on the trip for Pete to save face with his fans and I went to sleep and I woke up to him touching me.
---

You mentioned before that Charles hated you. Were the other Dis members cordial with you (at least when Pete wasn't telling them to hate you)?

Also, what is Pete's relationship with other vloggers/"news" sites? Does he view them as competition, inferior, etc.? I know some of them contribute to the GKTW charity events.

Yea everyone else was cordial with me. Charles was really the only one that openly didn’t care for me. I think others were worried about my situation with Pete, but it was moreso how it affected them. I remember getting approached by a staff member (won’t say who) and them reminding me that if I reported Pete/sued him that I wasn’t just hurting Pete, I would be hurting everyone because they would all lose their jobs.

A lot of people cautioned Pete that he should be more careful around me because I was the most likely to go public and they were 100% correct and I even told Pete at the time that they were right because I would go public when the time was right and he laughed it off and thought I was kidding.
---

I've got a question for Sean. When you were on a trip with Pete, and you planned a special part of the trip to take him to the Transylvania castle, did Pete act like a little witch because it wasn't a first class plane ticket to that country? Was he pleasant on the trip, and did he act grateful that you planned something special for him?

Oh yes, Romania. In the lead up to Italy (prior to me telling him I no longer have feelings for him) I wanted to do something for him because nobody ever plans things for Pete. He was excited and it was a total surprise. We left at like 2-3am out of the smaller airport in Rome to fly over to Brasov. He still didn’t even know at the airport which plane we were getting on.

We took Ryan Air. I did purchase their ‘first class’ which was just regular seats with nobody in the middle seats but the flight was only 1.5 hours so it wasn’t bad. Worst meal I’ve ever had on a plane though. Pete actually had a really good time. Bran Castle sucks but I hired a driver and he took us to Peles Castle which is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. We ate at this restaurant and learned all about their role in WW2 and then back to the airport and flew back to Rome, so it wasn’t even overnight - it was like an 18 hour day trip.

He was behaved and pleasant that day.

 

[Rufio'sGhost]

This is so similar to what happened to me. Right before Italy, I told Pete I didn’t love him and didn’t wanna be with him and he begged me to still come on the trip ‘as his friend’ and when i did, he woke me up in the middle of the first night screaming and crying (I was sleeping on the couch) and begging me to sleep in the bed with him and that he was lonely. I went to the bed, he talked to me and cried and told me I was ‘denying’ my feelings for him and that if I didn’t love him, I never would’ve come on the trip. (Despite him saying for me to come as his friend and he’s also my employer saying I need to come on a work function) - I told him I did not feel that same way and that i only came on the trip for Pete to save face with his fans and I went to sleep and I woke up to him touching me.
---


Yea everyone else was cordial with me. Charles was really the only one that openly didn’t care for me. I think others were worried about my situation with Pete, but it was moreso how it affected them. I remember getting approached by a staff member (won’t say who) and them reminding me that if I reported Pete/sued him that I wasn’t just hurting Pete, I would be hurting everyone because they would all lose their jobs.

A lot of people cautioned Pete that he should be more careful around me because I was the most likely to go public and they were 100% correct and I even told Pete at the time that they were right because I would go public when the time was right and he laughed it off and thought I was kidding.
---


Oh yes, Romania. In the lead up to Italy (prior to me telling him I no longer have feelings for him) I wanted to do something for him because nobody ever plans things for Pete. He was excited and it was a total surprise. We left at like 2-3am out of the smaller airport in Rome to fly over to Brasov. He still didn’t even know at the airport which plane we were getting on.

We took Ryan Air. I did purchase their ‘first class’ which was just regular seats with nobody in the middle seats but the flight was only 1.5 hours so it wasn’t bad. Worst meal I’ve ever had on a plane though. Pete actually had a really good time. Bran Castle sucks but I hired a driver and he took us to Peles Castle which is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. We ate at this restaurant and learned all about their role in WW2 and then back to the airport and flew back to Rome, so it wasn’t even overnight - it was like an 18 hour day trip.

He was behaved and pleasant that day.

That's good to hear. He did actually speak highly of that trip, but now I've just been questioning everything he's told me 🫠 He usually isn't going to tell a story that paints him in a bad light. But then again, most people won't!

 

[Ahoyhoy]

I’d like to flesh out my story a little bit and give even more context. I ultimately decided to share here because I felt the overwhelming majority of folks are simply looking for the truth. While I see some judgement and criticism, I understand that when people are in the public eye, I know that’s part of the deal. We can’t grow without constructive criticism.

I know that I’m by no means %100 innocent in anything that happens in my life. I’m not a passenger or some audience member watching my life happen around me. I’m an active participant. I’ll happily take responsibility for any actions that may have led me to make poor decisions. But we also need to find a common ground of what constitutes predatory behavior.

What is taking advantage of? What is inappropriate for an employer to do with an employee? There’s such subtlety in our society when it comes to these things. Movements like MeToo are trying to break walls down and define what’s right and wrong.

I’m simply hoping to find some definitive personal boundaries in MY story. I’m hoping to share my perspective of what I went through and what I deem appropriate for my life. Your mileage may vary and I don’t intend to fight back with you about those things. Let’s get started…

I’m sad to say that I too can look back on these years and realize I was never in love with Pete. I knew even then I was not attracted to him. I had never been attracted to men anyways. Some of you may wonder what my sexuality is. I’ll be open about it. I’ve always identified as a straight man.

After finding myself in a relationship with Pete, it was undeniable to me that I must be somewhere else in the broad spectrum of sexuality. I’m not on the 100% side of being completely straight. Maybe 90%? I don’t even really identify as Bi. I don’t ever really find other men attractive and I’m very happily married to my amazing wife. All I know is that this moment in my life happened and I have no intentions of denying it. Do with that what you will.

I was also not in it for the money or the travel or the opportunities. Those things were great at the beginning. But they were not why I stayed. Looking back, I realize I was paid enough to pay rent and have a decent apartment with decent things. And Pete did pay for nice dinners, travel, and fun electronics. However, most of it was work related and like I said before, the cathartic selling of all of it at my local pawn shop proved to me that those things only ever tied me down.

So why did this relationship ever start? I’m not attracted to men. I’m not money hungry. What happened? I was vulnerable, young, naïve, and at the time a chronic people pleaser. Let’s rewind a few months before I moved to Florida in the summer of 2011.

It’s April 2011 and I’m at an emotional high. My college, VCU, has just made history by going to the Final Four in the NCAA championships. I’m a senior about to graduate from the film program and I have a great group of friends. One of my good friends devised a way for me and him to move in together in Orlando with the goal being to work full-time at Walt Disney World. Then just before graduation, I get a phone call.

My best friend from childhood (we were born 10 days apart and inseparable from then on) had just died in a house fire, alongside his newlywed wife and their poor little cat. I was devastated and depressed to say the least. I had lost a brother. We had gone to different schools, so we grew apart over the course of those 4 years or so. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I went from absolute high to basically rock bottom.

I graduated and me and my other friend still planned on living in Orlando together. That plan was in motion. But now it has become an escape. I escaped Virginia and all the pain that was there. Sadly, I also left everyone there without me. Looking back, I wonder how many of them wanted me to stay or needed me.

I started working full-time at Disney. I was enjoying my job there at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was dating here and there. Life was seemingly better. One of the things I did to distract myself was listen to the DISUnplugged. I had been listening since basically the beginning. I always thought to myself that the show could easily be made into a video show. I saw that things were going in that direction for other podcasts. I also felt they could use an upgrade in their video presence in general. Ride throughs, media events, etc..

I listened out for any opportunities where the team was doing meets in the parks and I eventually met several members of the team. Eventually I connected with Corey and he hired me to do a freelance video of the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the Fall of 2011. This was all intentional. I made myself known to the team and I was eager to help their website. I wanted to be a part of the team. I wanted them to be my friends.

The first time I ever met Pete in person was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter DISApalooza in December 2011. He was smoking a cigarette in the smoking section. I joined him and talked to him about the video I shot for them. It was a short conversation that apparently he has no recollection of. But nonetheless I think this helped put me on his radar.

This all led up to the Disney Fantasy media sailing. This was meant to be my tryout. If I nailed this, there was the idea that I’d get a full-time position with the DIS. It was a success and I was offered a full-time position as their Director of Video and New Media. I cannot remember exact numbers but my starting salary was somewhere in the $30,000s. By the way, this was actually an upgrade from Walt Disney World.

At the start, I was working from my own home like anyone else in the company would. I had invested in setting up my own little office area. I was covering media events and special parties. But then came time to start working on the video show. This involved working out of Pete’s home for a large amount of time. I was installing equipment in the studio (two bedrooms with the wall knocked out), going on shopping trips at Best-Buy and Sam Ash, and working on the floor plan. I had set up shop kind of temporarily there and most of my days were spent there.

Around this same time. Pete’ personal friend from back in New Jersey, Kevin (a different one) had reappeared in his life. I remember the two of them having private conversations like they were two teenagers in high school. Sometimes giggling, sometimes Kevin reassuring Pete while he was crying. I wasn’t allowed in the office during those times. Those were private moments.

Then one day during all of this, I get called into the office. Pete comes clean to me about how he has feelings for me. I assume spending all that time together at his house sped this process up. We got along great when there was no external pressure. I thought to myself at times that I was working for a really funny person who understood my passions and we had a great collaborative relationship.

So when he told me, he asked if that would be an issue for me. I said no. Again I had this great working relationship and I foolishly thought I could work around the knowledge of my boss having a crush on me. I say “crush” cause that’s what it felt like. He and Kevin going off and giggling or gossiping. Kevin pulled me to the side and tried to give me advice. I now know that this was all a manipulation. I’m confident he sent Kevin to talk to me, become my friend, get information about how I really felt. It was all very high school-esque.

I was somehow able to manage to keep things separated for a few months. By October 2012, we were off to London and Paris for a private Adventures by Disney tour hosted by Dreams Unlimited Travel. Of course, during this adventure we were sharing a room the whole time, to help reduce the costs and occupancy of the trip. This had happened before during some hotel reviews and I was never fully comfortable with it, especially after he had told me he had feelings for me.

So just to push pause for a second. I want you to remember that I’m very vulnerable. I’ve lost my best friend and I’m desperately trying to find a new friend, a new group, a new family here in Orlando. I find a person who’s great to work with, our personalities mesh pretty well, and we’re having fun. He tells me he has feelings, but I don’t want to lose the friendship and I don’t want to lose the job. I’ve made it very clear that I don’t have feelings, but I’m willing to put up with the awkwardness to continue doing my dream. Right now, the happiness to misery ratio is probably 85 happy to 15 miserable (on the sliding scale.)

We’re in London. Almost immediately into this trip, he uses a brand new phrase: “Emotional Relationship.” I find the timing interesting. He was OK existing as is back at home. The minute we're overseas, far from home, he has a conversation with me TELLING me that we’re not friends. How could we be? The way we work together and the laughter and fun. He TELLS me this is an emotional relationship. There’s no physical touch, but this definitely isn’t a friendship.

I’m secluded. I can’t drive home. I have to go to the same hotel room every night with this man for 2 weeks. I have no escape. Then he brings up this new development to the relationship. I push back at every instance. He cries and misses out on several parts of the adventure. I have to cover for him by the way; coming up with excuses for his absence (this became a recurring theme that even Sean has pointed out.)

At some point in the trip, during one of our multiple hours-long late-night conversations… I cave. I admit that logically I can see that this is more than just a friendship. There’s something special here. Never in my heart did I think it was romantic. But he latches on to my acknowledgement like I’ve never seen before.

All of a sudden, the trip wasn't so bad. Nothing has changed internally for me really. I’m able to enjoy myself. I feel like I acknowledged his feelings after very long intensive grill sessions… and we can move on.

On one of the nights, we were in London, I was asleep in my bed. There were two full/queen beds during this trip (thank God.) Pete had gotten pretty upset with me. I was late for a podcast recording in London. Everything ultimately went fine, but I had gotten held up at the London Eye with John and Kevin and the rest of the group. That experience was on our Itinerary, and I still don’t fully understand why he was upset that day. Pete went to bed upset and I went to sleep pretty tipsy (after hours of deep conversation and telling me why and how I can be better.) I woke up groggy to this man on his knees, next to my bed, reaching under my sheets and touching me inappropriately.

I didn’t know what to do, so I pretended to be asleep, shake him off me, and roll over into the opposite direction. I was now wide awake in the bed, pretending to be asleep. I think realized he almost got caught. He went back to his bed. I never mentioned this encounter to him ever again.

What should have I done? Confront him right there? Yes. I know that now. I’ve had over 10 years to relive this moment. This moment set the stage for how I approached the next 3 years. That sliding scale of misery I mentioned earlier… we’re sliding now. Sliding further and further down.

Initially I had shame. Shame that a man had touched me. Forgive me, but I grew up in a society where it was taboo to be gay even though I never felt that way personally. On top of that, I never identified as gay or even curious. Who could I tell? If I told anyone, they’d tell me what I was doing was wrong, they’d tell me to give up my entire dream or they might kill this man .

The shame, guilt, and the desire to hide this friendship/emotional relationship/relationship was what fueled everything. I couldn’t tell my family. Strike #1. Pete used my shame to guilt me further and further down the path of a relationship. He might say things like “How could I have let things like this happen if I wasn’t into it?” So that’s Strike #2. My friends and co-workers knew parts of it but I was hiding most of it. The balancing act that built for another 3 years eventually tipped that misery scale to 100% into the opposite direction.

This is just the beginning. This is the "why." This is only less than a year into working at the DIS. I’m leading a double/triple life. I’m lying to friends and family and pleasing the one person who gave me the ultimate piece of bait dangling from the hook. He could be my real friend. Something I had so recently lost.

The next few years played out on screen for a lot of people. After reading this, I challenge you to go back and watch my smile being forced through my teeth. I’ll continue the story. There’s so much more to dive into. It doesn’t end here.

Wow. So sorry to hear that happened to you. I'm super happy that you were able to move on--that must have been an incredibly traumatic experience.

I know you're being humble about how you're no saint, etc. but NO ONE deserves to be violated like that, especially by a person in power.

It's been mentioned on here before, but if Pete were straight and doing this to female employees, he'd be in legal hell (where he belongs).

 

[LemonPledge]

I'm a bit of a lurker on this thread and was a fan of the DIS from the Bob Varley days (barely watch it now), but oh my gosh I am so sad and angry to hear what happened to Sean and Dustin. I hope this forum is helpful for you both to let of steam and heal and I'm glad to hear you've both been able to move on. Dustin, I hope you're able to take your wife to WDW eventually and that the magic is still there for you. It was evident during your time on the DIS you were hugely talented and destined for great things so I hope you haven't lost your passion for creative filmmaking.

One question I did have is what happened with Pete's ex-husband Walter? On one of the few occasions I met Pete, he implied that Walter cheated on him - however I can fully imagine based on what's been revealed on this thread it being the other way around.

 

[Johnny Stabone]

Is this why Pete's instagram is now off?

 

[Bullybuster]

As a gay man, I am cautious to use to word predator. That word gets thrown around far too much about gay men

I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer consistently abusing their power to bed employees.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer using company funds to put a prostitute on the payroll.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer requiring employees to share hotel rooms "to save money"

Let's not confuse the issue here with political correctness.
He's a groomer and a predator, and if this were young women being abused by a horny old man then charges would have already been filed.

Instead of worrying about Pete being victim off homophobia, how about a little empathy for the victims who are being ignored because their men.

They're the actual victims of bias here.

 

[Ahoyhoy]

I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer consistently abusing their power to bed employees.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer using company funds to put a prostitute on the payroll.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer requiring employees to share hotel rooms "to save money"

Let's not confuse the issue here with political correctness.
He's a groomer and a predator, and if this were young women being abused by a horny old man then charges would have already been filed.

Instead of worrying about Pete being victim off homophobia, how about a little empathy for the victims who are being ignored because their men.

They're the actual victims of bias here.

I think we can acknowledge that Pete is a pathetic loser while still understanding that sometimes the word "predator" is used too loosely.

Pete is 100% a predator, though.

 

[DISbored]

I remember getting approached by a staff member (won’t say who) and them reminding me that if I reported Pete/sued him that I wasn’t just hurting Pete, I would be hurting everyone because they would all lose their jobs..

HELLO anyone who breezed by this is really not getting the weight of this statement holy bleeping tit

 

[Ahoyhoy]

HELLO anyone who breezed by this is really not getting the weight of this statement holy bleeping tit

I was just about to post about this. If this is true, especially if said by a supervisor, the problems at the Dis extend waaaaaaaaaaay beyond Pete.

 

[court2022]

Hi! New here. Came over from The Tim Tracker thread. I have been watching The Dis for years and am SO surprised by all of this! I just can't believe it. It saddens me for Dustin and Sean. Ok...carry on.

 

[preener2345]

It was mentioned on the latest DVC Fan podcast/YouTube video that employees of DIS can't even disconnect when they go away on vacation? The only way they can get away from work is to take a cruise, but if they have the internet package they have to checkin with work regularly? WTH. Does that sound like the kind of company one wants to work for. It isn't like these people are in high up positions, I could MAYBE understand a higher level manager needing to checkin, but just some regular joe workerbee?

 

[Maleficent50]

I read this thread a lot but rarely comment. I couldn’t read Dustin and Sean’s stories and scroll on by. It made me so sad and bloody angry to read how you’ve both been abused by that creep. I’m beyond disgusted. I hope you both have found peace and happiness. I used to watch the show when you guys were on but stopped not long after Charles left. I occasionally watch a dining show if I’m planning a trip from the Uk. I won’t watch ever again after hearing about what a bleeping predator Pete is.

 

[DisWow]

This was an incredibly difficult story to read, Dustin. Thank you for sharing your truth.

 

[WDWUO83]

As much as I enjoy Craig and Ryno, I can’t continue to support any of the Dis content. The Dis Unplugged was the first theme park channel I subscribed to back in 2018 when I decided to save for a WDW trip. I loved all of the shows, even if the past year has been less entertaining. There’s just no way I can contribute to a man who reportedly sexually assaults people. I completely agree with @Jafar when he says that the term “predator” is tossed around far too easily (towards gay men in particular). I also agree when he says that Pete appears to be predatory.

Thank you, Dustin and Sean, for sharing your truth with us. It takes a lot of courage, and it’s evident that you have both put in so much work to heal.

To say this is heartbreaking is an understatement.

 

[Bullybuster]

How many self-righteous Werner "rants" did we all have to suffer through about Disney mistreating their cast members while this delusional asshole is bullying his own employees, misappropriating company funds to pay prostitutes, and sexually abusing a series of young men? Yeah, YOU should be the one running Disney's HR department Werner.

This goes beyond being a simple hypocrite. He's simply psychotic.

I can't imagine how his employees managed to stomach sitting there listening to Werner's sanctimony while they themselves were being treated far worse by him than Disney has ever treated their theme park workers. No cast members were ever required to share a hotel room with a love-starved Bob Iger near as I can tell.

 

[Murray9000]

Pete is a predator just as a male employer who would do this to a female employee or female employer to a male employee.
If that is homophobic...oh well.

 

[The Mando]

How many self-righteous Werner "rants" did we all have to suffer through about Disney mistreating their cast members while this delusional asshole is bullying his own employees, misappropriating company funds to pay prostitutes, and sexually abusing a series of young men? Yeah YOU should be the one running Disney's HR department Werner.

This is goes beyond being a simple hypocrite. He's completely psychotic.

I can't imagine how his employees managed to stomach sitting there listening to Werner's sanctimony while they themselves were being treated far worse by him than Disney has ever treated their theme park workers.

There is an episode where he rails against the ‘Me Too’ thing with Pixar and I actually tuned out the entire episode and was just staring at him and I don’t think I spoke a word the entire time because I just had to know what he was going to say since I assumed he would later be in the same spot.

 

[Rufio'sGhost]

Is this why Pete's instagram is now off?

It's not.

 

[Jafar]

I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer consistently abusing their power to bed employees.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer using company funds to put a prostitute on the payroll.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer requiring employees to share hotel rooms "to save money"

Let's not confuse the issue here with political correctness.
He's a groomer and a predator, and if this were young women being abused by a horny old man then charges would have already been filed.

Instead of worrying about Pete being victim off homophobia, how about a little empathy for the victims who are being ignored because their men.

They're the actual victims of bias here.

First of all I wasn’t worried about Pete. That was a general statement about the use of the word. Not specific to this situation. Where you would just call a straight man a creep, a gay man gets called a predator. Secondly, before you say I have no empathy for the victims why don’t you go back and read all the messages in the last thread.
---

This is so similar to what happened to me. Right before Italy, I told Pete I didn’t love him and didn’t wanna be with him and he begged me to still come on the trip ‘as his friend’ and when i did, he woke me up in the middle of the first night screaming and crying (I was sleeping on the couch) and begging me to sleep in the bed with him and that he was lonely. I went to the bed, he talked to me and cried and told me I was ‘denying’ my feelings for him and that if I didn’t love him, I never would’ve come on the trip. (Despite him saying for me to come as his friend and he’s also my employer saying I need to come on a work function) - I told him I did not feel that same way and that i only came on the trip for Pete to save face with his fans and I went to sleep and I woke up to him touching me.
---


Yea everyone else was cordial with me. Charles was really the only one that openly didn’t care for me. I think others were worried about my situation with Pete, but it was moreso how it affected them. I remember getting approached by a staff member (won’t say who) and them reminding me that if I reported Pete/sued him that I wasn’t just hurting Pete, I would be hurting everyone because they would all lose their jobs.

A lot of people cautioned Pete that he should be more careful around me because I was the most likely to go public and they were 100% correct and I even told Pete at the time that they were right because I would go public when the time was right and he laughed it off and thought I was kidding.
---


Oh yes, Romania. In the lead up to Italy (prior to me telling him I no longer have feelings for him) I wanted to do something for him because nobody ever plans things for Pete. He was excited and it was a total surprise. We left at like 2-3am out of the smaller airport in Rome to fly over to Brasov. He still didn’t even know at the airport which plane we were getting on.

We took Ryan Air. I did purchase their ‘first class’ which was just regular seats with nobody in the middle seats but the flight was only 1.5 hours so it wasn’t bad. Worst meal I’ve ever had on a plane though. Pete actually had a really good time. Bran Castle sucks but I hired a driver and he took us to Peles Castle which is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. We ate at this restaurant and learned all about their role in WW2 and then back to the airport and flew back to Rome, so it wasn’t even overnight - it was like an 18 hour day trip.

He was behaved and pleasant that day.

Funny that “felony assaulter” Charles would have a high horsed opinion of you