The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation,” according to a statement from the entertainment giant.
Disney and DeSantis have been embroiled in a feud over Disney World’s self-governing privileges in the Orlando area, which the governor and possible GOP presidential contender has threatened to revoke. The corporation is the state’s largest employer.
The power struggle started when Disney, under then-CEO Bob Chapek, criticized the Florida government for a state education law that opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeSantis signed the bill into law in March 2022.
Disney’s lawsuit dramatically escalates the fight. The company alleges that the a retaliation campaign was “orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech” and “now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”
“Disney regrets that it has come to this,” the company said in the first section of the lawsuit. “But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the Company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.”
The corporation announced that it had filed suit shortly after a local governing board appointed by DeSantis passed a resolution Wednesday to void an agreement that allowed the Walt Disney World theme park and resort to keep control over much of its business operations in Florida.
“Disney was openly and legally granted a unique and special privilege, that privilege of running its own local government,” Alan Lawson, a former Florida Supreme Court justice whose firm was hired by the DeSantis-appointed board, said during the board meeting. “That era is ending.”
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