The happiest place on Earth ain’t so happy with its governor.
Wednesday, the Walt Disney Company sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of waging a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power” against the company.
The move escalates the feud between the Republican and entertainment giant whose fight began in 2022 when Disney called out Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Soon after, Republican lawmakers passed a bill that stripped Disney of its self-governing authority that had been in place since the 1960s. However, prior to that law going into effect, Disney signed an agreement with its outgoing board that would allow them to retain the development rights of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
At a meeting Wednesday, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s board of supervisors, handpicked by DeSantis, voted to invalidate that agreement.
Moments later, Disney announced it would be suing DeSantis and various Florida officials, claiming the company has been “forced to defend itself against a state weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment.”
“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,” states the complaint.
“Today’s action is the latest strike: At the Governor’s bidding, the State’s oversight board has purported to ‘void’ publicly noticed and duly agreed development contracts, which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney’s investment dollars and thousands of jobs.”
In response to the suit, Taryn Fenske, the communications director for Gov. Ron DeSantis, told ABC News, “we are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state.”
The statement continued, “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.”
