Disney sues Florida Governor DeSantis over efforts to ‘weaponize’ govt

Disney has filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other officials alleging a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power."

"Disney regrets that it has come to this," the first section of the lawsuit said, according to NBC News. The lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida accuses DeSantis of orchestrating a campaign to punish Disney for its political views.

It further stated, "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 development comes a week after DeSantis pledged to work with the state legislature to revoke Disney's corporate control over its Florida theme park.

The feud between Disney and the Florida Governor started after the company's then CEO Bob Chapek slammed DeSantis-backed legislation which prohibited teachers from discussing gender and sexual orientation in early school grades.

This was signed into law in 2022.

Following the criticism, the Governor and his allies targeted the special tax district that has allowed Disney, which is one of Florida's biggest employers with over 70,000 workers at its theme parks, to essentially self-govern its Florida operations since the 1960s.

The Governor had put a new board in charge of Disney's Florida district, but last February, the board approved a pact that gave them control of the parks. The DeSantis administration didn't know it until March and scrambled to respond.

Meanwhile, Jeremy T Redfern, deputy press secretary for DeSantis, said that the lawsuit is another attempt by the company to "operate outside the bounds of the law."

"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. 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," Politico quoted him as saying in an email.