The feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company took a fresh twist today with the news that the House of Mouse has filed a lawsuit against the Governor and other state officials in federal court after what it claimed was "a targeted campaign of government retaliation."DeSantis has targeted Disney for months now in the wake of their criticism of the Florida education bill - labeled "Don't Say Gay" - by attempting to disband the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was a special committee formed during the development of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, designed to give Disney the authority to essentially self-govern. It is a special tax district, making Disney World its own city in effect, and employs over 75,000 people. It gives Disney control over issues such as fire protection, policing, waste management, energy generation, road maintenance, bond issuance and development planning.The "Don't Say Gay" bill is a twisted piece of legislation which prohibits classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary school grades. Despite initial silence, pressure from employees made then-CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, publicly oppose the bill.
In retaliation, and following the reappointment of Bob Iger to the position of CEO at Disney, DeSantis appointed his own Board of Supervisors to Reedy Creek, after lawmakers permitted him to appoint it in an attempt to curtail Disney's autonomy, who then voted to void approval that Disney had earlier received to build four new theme parks, and thousands more hotel rooms in the next ten years.When the DeSantis stooges were appointed, they discovered the Disney-controlled board, prior to their departure, had approved the above and restricted the abilities of the new board by applying covenants, essentially making them powerless to affect any Disney business for decades to follow.DeSantis reacted with the sort of bluster one might expect from a high-profile GOP member by threatening to build items near Disney property, including state prisons, to discourage guests from visiting Disney owned attractions in future. Iger called DeSantis “anti-business” at the company’s annual shareholder meeting this month.The document released by the DeSantis puppet board stated that the deal only benefited Disney. It should be noted that Disney disclosed that it has paid $1.146 billion in state and local taxes. Disney says that it is the “largest single taxpayer in Central Florida”.
DeSantis' Behavior Is In Keeping with Republican Homophobia
The petty behavior of Gov. DeSantis is an attempt at smoke and mirrors to deflect from the true purpose of his targeting of the Disney company. The hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community spouted by the Republican Party and other right-wing individuals are all part of a carefully orchestrated plan designed to boost DeSantis' public profile as part of an attempt to challenge Donald Trump as the next Presidential contender for the 2024 election.Disney's lawsuit read: “A targeted campaign of government retaliation -- orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech -- now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for DeSantis, called Disney's lawsuit "yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law."