The political conflict between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis started just one year ago, yet in that time, we’ve seen two lawsuits, a new DeSantis-appointed Reedy Creek board, and even some major changes to the Disney World monorail inspection process.
Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District spoke out against The Walt Disney Company’s federal lawsuit. Let’s unpack what was said.
As a refresher, the conflict began in 2022 following Disney’s public opposition to Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education law (what critics called “Don’t Say Gay”).
From there, Governor DeSantis responded to Disney’s statement and stated that Disney “crossed the line,” and a short time later, a bill was passed in Florida to dissolve the Reedy Creek District. The board was replaced with a DeSantis-appointed tourism oversight board known as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Now, fast-forward to 2023. In April 2023, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the members of the District’s new Board of Supervisors (the CFTOD). In short, the lawsuit alleges that the Governor unlawfully retaliated against Disney because of the statements Disney made against the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Disney called the governor’s actions a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power” against Disney.
Then, on June 26th, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Attorneys filed a motion to dismiss Disney’s lawsuit, arguing that the federal case should be put on hold until the state’s case (which was filed by the CFTOD) in Orange County Circuit Court is resolved — or the federal case should be dismissed altogether.
Disney filed a response to the motion to dismiss, and now Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tourism oversight board issued a reply to Disney’s claims, stating that the court should “abstain from or dismiss the entertainment giant’s federal lawsuit.”
DeSantis’ lawyers further argued that Disney lacked the legal standing to sue the governor, stating, “Disney’s alleged injuries are neither traceable to the State Defendants nor redressable by an injunction against them, so it lacks standing.“
DeSantis’ reply in support of the motion to dismiss further added, “The Governor welcomes Disney’s surrender on all of its claims challenging his legislative acts” and called Disney’s complaint a “glorified press release.”
We will continue to look out for additional updates in the federal case against DeSantis and the CFTOD. Stay tuned for more news.
Decoding the Accusations in Disney’s Lawsuit Against Ron DeSantis
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I remember when Desantis was running for governor he made a comment how Disney should pay it’s fair share just like other parks. Yes, Disney contributes a lot to Florida’s economics, but so does Universal and other Florida vacation resorts. I guess over the years, Desantis and Disney had a good relationship. Things changed when Chapek became Disney’s CEO and got Disney involved in Florida’s political decisions. Chapek threw his chest out and went rogue. Some of the Disney board members didn’t agree with his comments. As tensions got worse, changes had to be made. It’s up to the people of Florida to decide whether Desantis is good for them. For us, we enjoyed going to Disney World to escape the politics and other world distractions. I don’t think anyone wants to hear politics while on vacation. Finally, it seems a handful of states came out of the covid shutdowns better than most. Florida was one of them as well as my state Texas.
Now why would Disney want to do that???
Florida man makes bed, now afraid to lie in it
Everything this governor does is a “glorified press release.” *hard eye-roll*
Agreed!!!