There is perhaps no greater example of Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s authoritarian, anti-free-speech, anti-business, anti-everything-that-he-doesn’t-approve-of proclivities than his feud with Disney, which began when the company spoke out against his bigoted “Don’t Say Gay” law and was subsequently punished—at numerous turns—for doing so. And while the governor and possible 2024 presidential candidate may have assumed he could ultimately steamroll the company into submission, that does not appear to be the case. Because on Wednesday, Disney sued DeSantis and other state officials alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.” Or as we’ve previously put it, Ron DeSantis f–ked with Disney, and Disney f–ked back.
The company’s suit accuses the governor of “orchestrat[ing]” a retaliation campaign “at every step” as payback that violates protected speech, a campaign, it says, that “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 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 suit was filed shortly after a new governing board that was handpicked by DeSantis passed a resolution voiding an agreement that allowed the theme park and resort to retain control of much of its business operations. DeSantis moved to strip Disney’s self-governing powers after it criticized a law preventing Florida teachers of kindergarten through third grade from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation. (When Disney originally spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education legislation, it applied to just those lower grades; last week, the state’s Department of Education expanded it to all grades at DeSantis’s request.)
(Now would probably be a good time to mention the incredible fact that Ron and his wife, Casey DeSantis, got married at Disney World. Yes, they’re those people. As he wrote in his memoir: “Casey’s family was what one might call a family of Disney enthusiasts. They loved going to Disney World. Being the dutiful groom, I deferred to her.” DeSantis, though, had one stipulation: “My only condition was that no Disney characters could be part of our wedding. I wanted our special day to look and feel like a traditional wedding. I didn’t want Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck in our wedding photos.”)
In a section of the suit that is sure to rankle DeSantis, who likes to claim that Florida is the freest state in America and also that he’s a business-friendly conservative, Disney writes:
“Disney wishes things could have been resolved in a different way. But Disney also knows that it is fortunate to have the resources to take a stand against the State’s retaliation—a stand smaller businesses and individuals might not be able to take when the State comes after them for expressing their own views. In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind.”
In a statement, Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’s communications director said, “This 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. We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government.”
Last week, DeSantis threatened to try to change state law in order to subject Disney’s theme park to new inspections. Then he suggested his hand-selected board would look into raising the company’s taxes and that the land next to Disney World might be turned into a rival park or perhaps a state prison. So you can probably understand why the company felt a lawsuit was appropriate.
