Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday dismissed a lawsuit against him filed by the Walt Disney Company, and said he will continue to try to curb Disney’s power in Florida by taking back control of the land it uses. at the Disney World resort.
“Sometimes you need an executive to come in and tell them to hit the sand,” DeSantis said in an interview with The American Conservative.
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Governor Ron DeSantis responded Monday to a lawsuit against him from Disney, which he said benefits from “corporate welfare” through its independent control of the surrounding area of its Walt Disney World Resort. (Fox News)
Disney sued DeSantis after he signed a bill in May revoking the corporation’s development agreements with its resorts in the state. The actions against Disney are aimed at ending the company’s decades of protected state status.
“It’s a corporate benefit,” DeSantis said. “We have no obligation as a state to continue that arrangement.”
Disney’s lawsuit claims DeSantis’ actions were part of a “campaign of retaliation” after the company announced its opposition to an education bill signed by the governor in 2022 that prohibits discussion of religious orientation. sexuality or gender identity in the classroom until after third grade. Disney condemned the bill when it became law.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, first lady Casey DeSantis and their children visited a restaurant in Troy, Ohio. (Office of Gov. Ron DeSantis)
“Our goal as a company is to have this law repealed by the legislature or struck down by the courts, and we remain committed to supporting national and state organizations working to achieve that,” the company said in a statement. a statement.
Disney claims in the lawsuit that the actions against them from DeSantis and his allies in the state legislature are a violation of free speech rights as a company.
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Disney, in its lawsuit, claimed DeSantis’ actions were part of a “campaign of retaliation” after the company announced its opposition to an education bill the governor signed in 2022. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
DeSantis, in his interview with The American Conservative, said that Republicans in the statehouse are simply focused on ending the privileged status of Disney in his state, which he described as “unsustainable,” “unjustified” and ” really, really disgusting.”
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“I mean, the idea that you have a First Amendment right to corporate welfare or have a local government that you control without accountability is ridiculous,” DeSantis said. “They didn’t do anything to touch Disney’s free speech rights. Did they take away ABC’s broadcast license? Did they say Disney can’t talk about anything? Of course not. They took a government authorized by the state of Florida. which, yes, is basically corrupted by the influence of Disney and run by Disney, and they put the responsibility on it.”
