Disney is facing a serious lawsuit from one of its own top executives. Jay Ong, the man overseeing the company’s entire video game empire that includes Star Wars and Marvel titles, is accusing The Walt Disney Company of discrimination and retaliation. He filed a $40 million complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 13, 2026.
Ong says he was told he was not a good “cultural fit” during a 2025 meeting with Disney’s human resources department. According to his complaint, HR vice president Natalia Strauch later contacted his executive coach without permission to dig up negative details about him. All this allegedly happened while his division posted record profits of about $500 million a year.
At 56, Ong serves as head of Disney’s Gaming Group in Burbank. He runs global strategy and licensing across Marvel, Lucasfilm (Star Wars), Pixar, Disney, and 20th Century Studios. Before taking over the entire group in 2024, he led Marvel Games for nearly a decade, guiding major hits like the Spider-Man series for PlayStation. His background includes roles at Blizzard, EA Sports, and Xbox. Few inside Disney have comparable experience or results.
Under Ong’s leadership, the gaming unit manages crowd-pleasing franchises that keep Disney brands in living rooms and on consoles. Lucasfilm Games launched Star Wars Outlaws in 2024 through Ubisoft and earlier produced the popular Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor titles. Upcoming projects include Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, announced at The Game Awards in 2025 by Arcanaut, and Star Wars Zero Company, planned for 2026. On the Marvel side, players await Wolverine from Insomniac, Blade from Arkane, and Marvel Rivals from NetEase.
Despite those successes, Ong claims his bonuses were suddenly cut. His 2024 bonus was $367,117, but a year later it dropped to $325,000. Incentive pay also fell from $770,000 to $620,000 even as performance reviews called his work “exceptional.” He believes these pay cuts were retaliation meant “to send a message, embarrass him, and force him out.”
Disney has not commented on the lawsuit. The case, filed through attorneys at Ellis George, Harris St. Laurent and Wechsler, remains in its early stages with no trial date set. Ong continues to work at Disney’s Burbank headquarters as the legal process plays out.
The stakes are high. Ong says Disney’s treatment of Asian executives shows a pattern of bias inside a company that publicly promotes inclusion. If the case proceeds, it could expose leadership practices that clash with Disney’s public image. It could also raise questions about how the entertainment giant treats the people behind some of its most profitable brands.
For fans, there’s another concern. Will the lawsuit impact upcoming games that already have millions waiting? Titles like Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic and Marvel’s Wolverine represent key moments for the company’s gaming future. The dispute comes as Disney’s gaming division reaches new financial highs, building fresh interest in both Star Wars and Marvel stories outside of film and TV.
Jay Ong’s lawsuit exposes a bit of what the internal climate of one of Disney’s strongest and most profitable departments must be like. As his legal fight begins, the question is how will Disney’s leadership respond now that one of its most successful executives says the company he helped make stronger turned against him?
***
English (US) · 