ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said Monday that any retaliatory action by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature against the company that threatens jobs or the expansion of its Florida resort is not just “anti-business”. … but anti-Florida.
Responding to a question during an online shareholder meeting, Iger said the governor and Republican lawmakers appeared to be retaliating against the company for exercising its constitutional rights when Disney criticized Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation last year. while Bob Chapek was driving. the company at that time. The measure bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade, as well as lessons deemed age-inappropriate.
In response, Florida lawmakers passed and DeSantis signed a law renewing the board that oversees the 27,000-acre (10,926 ha) Walt Disney World property outside Orlando. Among the changes to the legislation was that Florida’s governor could choose the board’s five supervisors, rather than being controlled by Disney as it had been for the past 55 years.
During the shareholder meeting, Iger declared the company’s love for the state of Florida, noting that it is the state’s largest taxpayer and has about 75,000 workers. The company plans to invest $17 billion in Disney World over the next 10 years, which will create an additional 13,000 jobs.
Iger acknowledged that there may have been some missteps in how Disney initially responded to the Florida legislation: The company took its time to speak out against it publicly and only after lobbying from internal Disney employees . But he said the company has a right to free speech, just like individuals.
By taking on Disney, DeSantis sought to enhance his reputation as a culture warrior willing to fight perceived political enemies and wield the power of state government to achieve political goals, a strategy he is expected to continue ahead of his potential candidacy for Parliament. .
But supervisors appointed by DeSantis said at the second meeting of the revamped board last week that their predecessors were able to quickly stop them by passing restrictive covenants that stripped the new board of most of its powers.
DeSantis on Monday asked Florida’s chief inspector general to launch an investigation into the previous board’s actions.
DeSantis said in a letter to the inspector general that any legal or ethical violations should be reported to the “appropriate authorities.”
“Disney is fighting again to preserve its special corporate benefits and avoid Florida law,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in an email. “We will not allow that to happen. As Governor DeSantis recently said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
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