Disney faces legal battle with Florida governor

Entertainment group Disney is taking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to court. According to Disney, DeSantis and other politicians from the state have taken all kinds of actions against the company in retaliation. It started when Disney spoke out against a law that prohibited teachers from talking about sexual orientation. The company says the retaliation also violates Disney’s right to freedom of expression.

When DeSantis enacted the nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay” law, Disney initially did nothing. The company was criticized for this, after former CEO Bob Chabeck said Disney was behind the LGBTI community. DeSantis decided to settle for the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The special municipality controlled by Disney allowed the entertainment group to organize police, fire, road maintenance and development projects for the area where the Disney World theme park was located.

That special status disappeared, but just before that happened, Disney-appointed directors limited the DeSantis-Loyal board’s ability to fix things. Thus, development and construction policy was almost always deposited with Disney. The new board reversed those decisions, but it’s not yet clear if it can do so. DeSantis threatened to build a prison at Disney World and transfer control of Disney theme park roller coasters to the state of Florida. Other amusement parks should be allowed to do it themselves.

DeSantis is seen as a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency of the United States. He has yet to officially announce his intention to run for the post.