• Disney’s licensing company, Movie Licensing USA, demanded a California elementary school pay $US250 after the PTA showed “The Lion King” at a fundraising event.
• Disney CEO Bob Iger apologised in a tweet on Thursday and said he would “personally donate to their fund raising initiative.”
• Movie Licensing USA had sent an email to the school saying it could be fined $US250 for the showing and $US250 for any future showings, according to CNN.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

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Disney CEO Bob Iger apologised on Twitter on Thursday after the company’s licensing agent went after an elementary school in California, demanding $US250 for a showing of last year’s “The Lion King” remake that occurred at a PTA fundraising event.

“Our company apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative,” Iger said.

Disney’s licensing company, Movie Licensing USA, sent an email to the school, which was obtained by CNN, that said it had been alerted to the school’s “Lion King” showing. It informed the school that it needed to pay $US250 for the showing and additional fees of $US250 for any future showings, according to CNN.

“Any time movies are shown without the proper licence, copyright law is violated and the entity showing the movie can be fined by the studios,” the email said, according to CNN. “If a movie is shown for any entertainment reason – even in the classroom, it is required by law that the school obtains a Public Performance licence.”

“One of the dads bought the movie at Best Buy,” the PTA president David Rose told CNN. “He owned it. We literally had no idea we were breaking any rules.”

Lori Droste, who has kids at Emerson Elementary, tweeted about the incident last week, saying the company “wanted pretty much what they had raised that evening.”

“Disney wants $US250 when we are struggling to pay our teachers and spending per pupil is laughable?” she added.

Disney did not return a request for comment from Business Insider last week.

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