DeSantis Board Planning To Fight Back Against Disney

(RepublicanJournal.org) – For months, Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) have been battling each other for control over the entertainment company’s four world-renowned theme parks that call Florida home. For decades, Mickey Mouse’s turf has essentially been self-governed under an agreement that Disney had with the state. However, after Disney’s previous CEO criticized DeSantis’ signing of the Parental Rights in Education Bill, nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” the southern GOP leader has been trying to strip the entertainment giant of its powers. However, the situation recently developed into a significant legal battle.

At the end of April, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against Governor DeSantis, alleging that he retaliated against the company for its objections to the parental rights bill. However, on Monday, May 1, a DeSantis-appointed board of supervisors overseeing Walt Disney World voted to counter-sue. According to POLITICO, Martin Garcia, who chairs the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said the panel’s members “have no choice now but to respond.”

DeSantis-backed board will sue Disney in latest escalation https://t.co/o4QxgnfwsS

— POLITICO (@politico) May 1, 2023

According to CNBC, Garcia believes that Disney is trying to “wrestle back the hands of time to 1967,” when it was almost wholly self-governed, but emphasized that the city design of decades ago does not work for the modern world. On the other hand, DeSantis and his board want to ensure that no company operating in Florida has unique privileges not afforded to others.

This legal back and forth between DeSantis and the entertainment giant has drawn criticism from people on both sides of the aisle, including Republican presidential candidates. As many voters speculate as to whether or not DeSantis will throw his name into the hat in the coming weeks, how he handles this ongoing situation with Disney, which he believes is a “woke” corporation, will tell Americans a lot about how he may run the nation one day.