Disney sues Florida’s Ron DeSantis for ‘relentless campaign’ over LGBTQ stance

In a dramatic move, Disney has announced that it is suing the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis.

On Wednesday (26 April) Walt Disney Co. alleged that DeSantis had led a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power.” Disney is Florida’s largest employer.

It’s the latest escalation in a long-running feud. DeSantis has focused more on the organisation after it came out against the ‘Don’t Say Gay, Don’t Say Trans’ law.

Wednesday’s lawsuit from Disney says DeSantis’ efforts have impacted its business, as reported by CNBC.

It comes the same day a board of supervisors, appointed by DeSantis, voted to scrap a development deal that gave Disney control over its business operations. The board has also voted to ban the resort parks from imposing Covid restrictions.

“Disney expressed its opinion on state legislation and was then punished by the State for doing so.”

Disney has said it had plans to invest $17 billion in Walt Disney World in Florida over 10 years. This could have led to an estimated 13,000 new jobs in addition to the existing 75,000.

Disney labelled the “latest strike” as “patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional,” according to filings to the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida.

It also said: “There is no room for disagreement about what happened here: Disney expressed its opinion on state legislation and was then punished by the State for doing so.”

In his response DeSantis said his actions were about curbing Disney’s special tax and governance privileges.

DeSantis’ communications director, Taryn Fenske has told CNBC: “This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law.”

In 1967 the Reedy Creek Improvement District was created giving Disney responsibility for the public services and governance in its 25,000-acre spanning parks and resorts.

Through Reedy Creek it has paid million in tax on top of regular taxes to the local area.

Reedy Creek has now been replaced with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

“You needed me to be a stronger ally”

The feud between DeSantis, a likely frontrunner for the Republican ticket in the 2024 Presidential Election, and Disney dates back to March 2022.

Disney eventually denounced the ‘Don’t Say Gay, Don’t Say Trans’ legislation last year. This came after much anger from the company’s employees and externally over silence on the issue.

Disney’s then CEO, Bob Chapek, eventually said: “You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”

DeSantis introduced the original bill – officially the Parental Rights in Education Act – last year.

The bill, which effectively bans the discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools for pupils aged 5-9. An expansion to cover all school grades was approved by the state’s Board of Education earlier this month.

It’s just one example of DeSantis’ campaign against “woke ideology.” After a landslide victory in last November’s midterm elections DeSantis promised: “Florida is where ‘woke’ goes to die.”