Miami, 27 April 2023 (GNP): On Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. filed a lawsuit against Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, seeking the court to turn down state attempts of regulating Walt Disney World theme parks and escalating issues between the World’s largest entertainment industry and a prospective US presidential candidate.
The issue with Disney, which established the city-scale Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971 and is one of the largest employers in the state, has raised DeSantis’ prominence and made him a more likely Republican presidential candidate.
He has advocated policies like the restriction on abortions after six weeks and the Parental Rights in Education Act, sometimes known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law by detractors, which forbids discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for students aged nine and under. Disney challenged that law last year in response to severe criticism from its employees.
The lawsuit was filed after state officials canceled the development contract involving Disney’s amusement park in Florida.
Disney claimed Mr. DeSantis’ actions to seize authority over its affairs hindered its operations and went against its constitutional rights. It petitioned the court to overturn the actions.
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Disney’s parks division expressed remorse in the lawsuit filed in a Florida federal court, adding, “Disney regrets it has come to this.”
“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”, said the lawsuit.
Mr. DeSantis, who is presently traveling the world, has previously characterized the state’s actions as attempts to eliminate special benefits for companies that were no longer in the public interest.
He had asserted that the state will not “bend a knee to woke executives in California”.
DeSantis spokesman Taryn Fenske responded to the lawsuit by saying, “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”.
“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”, he added.
