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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is on a vindictive "anti-business" crusade to "punish" The Walt Disney Company for speaking out against his "Don't Say Gay" bill, Disney CEO Bob Iger said.
Iger asserts that the governor's "angry" attempt to "retaliate" against the company was also "anti-Florida" during a meeting with Disney shareholders, CNBC reported on Monday. Earlier in the day, DeSantis called on the Florida inspector general to investigate "legal or ethical" violations by Disney due to the company blocking his attempt to effectively take control of a self-governing district surrounding Walt Disney World in Orlando.
"The governor got very angry about the position Disney took and seems like he's decided to retaliate against us, including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business," Iger reportedly said during the meeting. "In effect, to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right. And that just seems really wrong to me."
"Our point on this is that any action that supports those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida," he added. "And I'll just leave it at that."
DeSantis, a likely 2024 GOP presidential primary challenger to former President Donald Trump, started battling with the company early last year after the "Don't Say Gay" bill, officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Act, was introduced by Republicans in the Florida state legislature.
Iger, who was temporarily retired as Disney CEO at the time, warned that the bill would "put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy." While offering an initially muted response, then-CEO Bob Chapek also spoke out against the bill following backlash from pro-LGBTQ+ employees.
The bill, which bans discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, was later passed and signed by DeSantis. Disney issued a statement saying that the company hoped "for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts" in response.
A furious DeSantis said that the company had "crossed a line" by calling for the law to be repealed. Within months, he signed legislation to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had allowed Disney to self-govern for more than five decades.
Earlier this year, DeSantis announced the creation of a new board to control the area, featuring handpicked board members who align with him politically. He also suggested that Florida Republicans would have a say in the company's creative output, preventing Disney from "trying to inject woke ideology" into its content.
However, Disney outmaneuvered the governor just before the new board was created. While the special district will officially dissolve in June, the old board signed a new agreement that will effectively allow Disney to retain full developmental authority over the area "until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III."
In his letter to the inspector general on Monday, DeSantis complained that Disney and the board had made "collusive and self-dealing arrangements" that "aim to nullify the recently passed legislation, undercut Florida's legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians."
Disney says that the agreement is entirely legal and happened publicly before Florida Republicans moved to take control. DeSantis' government may still challenge Disney in court, potentially launching a lengthy and costly taxpayer-funded legal battle while the company remains in control of the area.
Newsweek has reached out via email to DeSantis' office for comment.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more