Disney Company is suing Florida Governor DeSantis

Disney has sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a dispute over a critical statement made by the entertainment group against the politician. DeSantis is waging a targeted government retaliatory campaign against Disney as punishment for the company’s exercise of its right to free speech, the lawsuit said in court Wednesday.

In doing so, DeSantis threatens the company’s operations and jeopardizes the economic future of the entire region.

According to media reports, a committee set up by DeSantis had recently decided to revoke Disney’s administrative rights to the area near the city of Orlando, where the Disney World theme park is located. The battle over who is in charge of the district has been raging for quite some time. In late March, Disney used a legal ploy to get administrative rights DeSantis previously contested back from the group by creating the commission. Until then, Disney had quasi-administrative sovereignty over the area due to a decades-old special arrangement.

Disney and DeSantis, who is being considered as a possible Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, have been at odds over the past year. The entertainment giant had sharply criticized a much-criticized Republican law that bans teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The scheme has recently been in effect up to and including the twelfth grade with a few exceptions. (sda/dpa)