Disney versus DeSantis: A History and Timeline of Events

Disney versus DeSantis: A History and Timeline of Events 

https://deadline.com/2023/05/ron-desantis-disney-not-made-a-peep-skirmish-dont-say-gay-law-party-is-over-1235358563/

    Let’s set the scene: March 8, 2022. A sunny, partly cloudy Tuesday in Orlando, Florida. The perfect weather and atmosphere for a peaceful day at Walt Disney World. For Florida politics, however, this day was the beginning of a long-lasting storm. March 8, 2022, was the day that the Florida Senate passed legislation that restricted schools from teaching things involving sexuality and identity from school years kindergarten through third grade (Hari & Marques, 2023). This was an extremely controversial decision, even for the Republican state of Florida. This legislation could result in repressed sexualities in children and close-minded behavior towards members of the LGBTQ+ community. Some people were flabbergasted that Florida was more concerned over what was coined as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill rather than gun violence, something that continues to grow in the cause of child mortality (McGough et al., 2023). Not more than 24 hours later did Bob Chapek, then CEO of The Walt Disney Company make an official statement (Hari & Marques, 2023). He said he disapproved of the legislation and personally called Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, to express his disappointment. This piece of legislation was only the beginning of what The Walt Disney Company would disagree with the governor on. 

             

    Later that month on March 28, DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law. House Bill (HB) 1557 “reinforces parents’ fundamental rights to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children” (Governor Ron Desantis signs historic bill to protect parental rights in education, n.d.). This bill includes the previously mentioned legislation, as well as requiring the school to notify parent’s if there is a change in a child’s “mental, emotional or physical health or well-being.” This time, Disney itself released a statement that said the bill “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law” (Hari & Marques, 2023). Less than a month later, DeSantis reacts publicly by asking the state’s legislature to “terminate long-standing special privileges granted to Walt Disney World and its associated theme parks in the area” (Hari & Marques, 2023). This would specifically target the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which gave Disney the ability to act autonomously in certain regards. Following this, on April 22, DeSantis signed the law that took way Disney’s self-governance, beginning June 1, 2023. He said, quote, “If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy” (Hari & Marques, 2023). This quote almost proves that his actions were a personal retaliation to Disney’s disdain towards his “Don’t Say Gay” bill. 

  

    Several months later in 2023, on February 6, a bill was filed that would give DeSantis the ability to choose the five-member board of supervisors who are in charge of Disney’s special district. This would ultimately allow him power over Disney that was not in place before. This bill was approved on February 10, and Reedy Creek was renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Keep in mind that in late 2022, on November 20, Bob Chapek was replaced with previous CEO Bob Iger. Ultimately, Chapek was the one who began this feud with DeSantis, and Iger was not hesitant to finish it. On April 3, at Disney’s annual meeting, Iger accused DeSantis of being “not just anti-Florida, but anti-business.” On April 17, things take a slightly ridiculous turn when DeSantis threatens to build a prison near the theme parks. Along with this, he threatens to impose taxes on hotels and add tolls on roads that are near Disney properties. Less than 10 days later, Disney officially sued DeSantis for “threatening billions of dollars in business as retaliation for the company speaking against his policies.” 

    In the following blog posts, I will take a deeper dive into how the media reacted to these happenings and how this affected the public’s opinion on Disney and DeSantis. 

 

References 

Governor Ron Desantis signs historic bill to protect parental rights in education. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. (n.d.). https://www.flgov.com/2022/03/28/governor-ron-desantis-signs-historic-bill-to-protect-parental-rights-in-education/ 

Harif, T. B., & Marques, F. (2023, April 27). Disney versus desantis: A timeline of the Florida feud. Time. https://time.com/6275097/disney-desantis-florida-feud-timeline/ 

McGough, M., Amin, K., Panchal, N., & Cox, C. (2023, July 18). Child and teen firearm mortality in the U.S. and peer countries. KFF. https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/#:~:text=Provisional%20CDC%20data%20from%202022,third%20year%20in%20a%20row