Walt Disney Co. filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, 26APR, alleging DeSantis has waged a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power" against the company, as media are reporting.
The federal lawsuit filed by Disney alleges that DeSantis "orchestrated at every step" a campaign to punish the company - whose business is therefore being threatened.
The suit dramatically escalates the feud between the “Most Magical Place on Earth” and DeSantis, who is expected to become a top Republican contender in the 2024 presidential race.
As Open Jaw has reported, the battle between Disney and DeSantis started last year after the theme park and entertainment giant spoke out against a controversial piece of Florida legislation that critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In response to Disney's criticism, DeSantis called to remove Disney World's self-governing status, which for the past six decades allowed the company to control a special district containing the resort. The state officially took over the special district in FEB, but before DeSantis could replace the board that oversaw the area, a Disney-allied panel signed a long-lasting development agreement that drastically limits the governor-appointed board's power.
As Open Jaw reported on 18APR, DeSantis vowed to nullify that development deal, and minutes after the DeSantis-appointed oversight board voided the deal 26APR, Disney filed its lawsuit.
Disney called the state government’s action “patently retaliatory, patently anti-business and patently unconstitutional.”
The company noted the development deal included "plans to invest $17 billion in Walt Disney World over the next decade, yielding an estimated 13,000 new jobs" on top of the 75,000 jobs Disney already supports in the state.
While the Florida governor attempted to cast his board appointees' move as "undermining" Florida voters and "operating outside the law," Disney lawyers insist "this is as clear a case of retaliation as this Court is ever likely to see."
"There is no room for disagreement about what happened here: Disney expressed its opinion on state legislation and was then punished by the State for doing so," the lawsuit said.
Disney's lawyers noted that until a year ago, when Disney publicly spoke out against his sex ed policies, DeSantis and his allies had no problems with the self-governing structure of Disney's special district.
