The Walt Disney Company is suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for “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.” The lawsuit was filed today in a federal court in Tallahassee, Florida.
Florida Governor DeSantis replied to the lawsuit with a statement that was released by his Communications Director Taryn Fenske.
“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,” Fenske states. “The 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.”
The lawsuit comes as Florida, under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, continues to feud with Disney about the future of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District. Now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, it replaced Reedy Creek which was dissolved after Disney came out against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year. After Disney spoke out, DeSantis led an attack on the district that ultimately led to its replacement with the new version of the district with a board that was handpicked by DeSantis.
Ahead of the transition, Disney and Reedy Creek created a Development Agreement that set the path for the future of the District and Disney. While this was done publicly and without any apparent attempts at hiding the process, Florida has accused Disney and the former Reedy Creek board of sneaking this through. Both the new board and the Governor have declared the deal “null and void.” Legislation is also being pushed through to nullify it. There are other initiatives currently underway that Disney views as punitive under the direction of the Florida Governor.
Daps Magic recently took a look at the feud between Disney and DeSantis and evaluated the various disagreements to see where the truth lies. This was done with a common sense approach to the information that is available publicly, which there is a lot. Now, this feud will be looked at by a federal court and a determination will be made there.
What do you think of this response to Disney’s lawsuit against DeSantis? How do you think this will proceed? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!