Posted in: Disney+, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: disney, florida, opinion, ron desantis, The Walt Disney Company

The DeSantis Strikes Back! Disney Lawsuit "Political"; Irony Now Dead

Proving irony is truly dead, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took a break from NOT prepping his 2024 run to call Disney's lawsuit "political."

Yesterday, The Walt Disney Company took off the four-fingered gloves and filed a lawsuit against the Florida Governor alleging that he has "orchestrated" what the company describes as "a targeted campaign of government retaliation" meant "as punishment for Disney's protected speech" that "now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights." During a visit outside of the country, Ron DeSantis responded to the lawsuit. Spoiler? He doesn't agree with it. But we're asking that you brace yourselves for about ten tons of irony about to hit you at 55 mph because here's what the dude who is definitely not overseas trying to build up his 2024 run has to say about the lawsuit.

"I don't think the suit has merit. I think it's political," DeSantis said (we're assuming with a straight face, though reports of any noses growing or pants catching fire are unconfirmed). "I think they filed in Tallahassee for a reason because they are trying to generate some district court decision, but we're very confident on the law. …The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no accountability are over in the state of Florida." Because Florida has room for only one third-rate despot… and its name is DeSantis. And then DeSantis went the "divide & conquer" route by comparing Disney with other tourist attractions. "Giving a company its own government, that is not what a free market is all about," DeSantis argued. We wish we would've had the chance to ask him if there's a difference if we replaced "company" with "a bunch of tinfoil hat-wearing sore losers who believe the 2020 election was stolen & trashed the U.S. Capitol." DeSantis continued, "In fact, they've been treated much different than Universal, Sea World, and all these other places. And so they're upset because they're actually having to live by the same rules as everybody else. They don't want to have to pay the same taxes as everybody else, and they want to be able to control things without proper oversight."

But then, almost in a way to make Disney's point for them, DeSantis brought up Disney's brave opposition to Florida Parental Rights In Education Act – known more truthfully as the "Don't Say Gay" Law. It was an "interesting" move since public comments like these from DeSantis in the past are serving as a basis for Disney's lawsuit. The law prohibits all grade levels from having classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation. That "instruction" has been expanded to include things like personal displays of LGBTQ pride and also resulted in the removal of books from libraries and changes to academic standards that have hurt the state on a national level.

Disney vs. DeSantis: How The Lawsuit Happened

The basis of the lawsuit is rooted in DeSantis' attempts to take away Disney's control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which the company has held for over a half-century and which allows Disney to pretty much control what happens on the lands that their parks are housed on. But DeSantis' Reedy Creek bill moved control of that land back to the state – at least, that was until DeSantis' board learned that the previous board had approved a series of development agreements with Disney that would still keep control of the lands with the company (with the agreements approved in open meetings).

But the divide between DeSantis and Disney allegedly goes much deeper than that, finding its foundation in a serious difference in societal policies. As part of its lawsuit, Disney claims that DeSantis' "retaliation" is in response to the company speaking out against the state GOP's push for the "Don't Say Gay" law, with DeSantis repeatedly attacking the company as "woke" and working against the best interest of Floridians, the company claims. "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," shared DeSantis' communications director, Taryn Fenske, in a statement.

"Disney regrets that it has come to this," the company said in its complaint (which you can check out here). "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."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!