Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Monday that he’s “moved on” from his feud with the Walt Disney Company, which has dragged on for the better part of two years. The battle escalated to the media company suing the state in April.
“But where we are today, you know, we basically moved on. They’re suing the state of Florida, they’re going to lose that lawsuit. So what I would say is drop the lawsuit,” DeSantis said in a teaser clip from his interview with CNBC “Last Call” anchor Brian Sullivan.
“Look, my wife and I, we got married at Walt Disney World. And so it’s not like we’re opposed. I mean, we’ve appreciated working with them over the years, but I would just say, go back to what you did well. I think it’s going to be the right business decision,” the GOP hopeful said.
Last month, DeSantis said that he thought Disney’s “woke” policies, such as opposing Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, have hurt it financially.
“My wife and I really believe that parents should be able to send their kids to school and watch cartoons without having an agenda shoved down their throat,” he said on “The Clay & Buck Show,” a conservative syndicated talk radio program. “That’s why we stood up to Disney with respect to our parents rights and education bill. And I think that it is impacting parents’ willingness to want to take their kids to the Disney stuff.”
DeSantis’ issues with Disney date back to when Bob Chapek was still CEO, but have continued under the new Bob Iger administration.
After DeSantis championed a law that sought to limit Disney’s ability to appoint the board of the special taxing district it’s enjoyed since 1967, the company sued the state.
Disney recently defended the lawsuit, alleging that since DeSantis used his political office to retaliate against them, he should not “evade responsibility” and should be held liable for “implementing, administering, and enforcing state laws that punish residents for political statements violating a state-prescribed speech code.”
The suit went on to state, “Florida cannot decide which rights and privileges to confer on special districts based on their residents’ political viewpoints — just as it could not do so based on their residents’ race or religion.”
