Ron DeSantis calls for Bob Iger to drop Disney lawsuit, says he’s ‘moved on’
Jack Birle
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) called on Disney to drop its lawsuit, filed in a bid to restore its autonomy over the district encompassing the Walt Disney World Resort, against him and other Florida officials, saying the entertainment giant will lose the legal challenge.
The Florida governor also said he has “moved on” from the feud and is willing to move forward with the company in the state, but he said they will not have their “extraordinary privileges” restored. His comments were released as a preview ahead of speaking on CNBC’s Last Call on Monday.
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“We’ve basically moved on, they’re suing the state of Florida. They’re going to lose that lawsuit,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis then said he would tell Disney’s CEO Bob Iger that he would be “totally fine” with moving forward from the recent feud, which began with the company denouncing the Parental Rights in Education Act, which the Florida governor signed into law last year.
“So what I would say is, drop the lawsuit. You have the state that even CNBC ranks as number one of all 50 states for economy, we lead the nation in new business formation, unemployment is incredibly low, great fiscal posture, people are bringing capital into Florida, this is a great place to do business. Your competitors all do very well here — Universal, SeaWorld. They have not had the same special privileges as you have,” DeSantis said.
“So all we want to do is treat everybody the same, and let’s move forward. I’m totally fine with that. But I’m not fine with giving extraordinary privileges, you know, to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else,” he continued.
Disney filed the lawsuit against DeSantis, acting Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Meredith Ivey, and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board in April in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The entertainment giant alleges a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.”
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The alleged “weaponization” by DeSantis stems from his signing legislation to restructure the district encompassing the Walt Disney World Resort to include more state oversight.
DeSantis and other state defendants are seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed.