valid read. I also see it as more like “this wasn’t a complete slam dunk guaranteed win if we go to court so let’s just settle and move on”. Large corporations like Disney don’t do anything for any reason other than money. In this case, canceling her contract seemed like the plan that would lose the least amount of money, and then once she sued and had Elon Musk behind her, settling became the new path to lose the least amount of money. It’s cynical, but not exactly “kissing the ring”. But really who knows, maybe the current political climate influenced the decision to settle.