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Credit: Gage Skidmore, FlickrIn what we at Inside the Magic have dubbed the “DeSantis Disney war,” the conservative Governor just lost a battle.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hand-appointed board members to control the municipality formerly known as Reedy Creek Improvement District in February. Though The Walt Disney Company tried to lessen its power, the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board aims to destroy the company’s influence in the area surrounding Walt Disney World Resort. In the meantime, the House of Mouse is suing DeSantis for retaliating against Disney’s right to free speech. (Unsurprisingly, DeSantis countersued.)
This all began in 2022, when former Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Act, popularly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. DeSantis warned Chapek not to get involved, but he stood with the LGBTQIA+ community and promised to pause all political donations to Florida legislators that supported the bill. Less than two months later, the Reedy Creek dissolution began.
As the two parties bicker over court dates and dismissal requests, DeSantis lost some powerful allies. On Thursday, several former and active Republican officials filed a motion supporting The Walt Disney Company’s lawsuit. The group filed an amicus curiae brief, a type of legal filing available to parties not involved in a legal case but who possess expertise or relevant information in the disputed matter.
The filing argues that DeSantis’s actions are undoubtedly “retributive” against Disney’s First Amendment right to free speech. It reads:
In following these autocratic examples, Governor DeSantis’s actions cause harm that is far broader than that suffered by Plaintiff. In choosing to punish Plaintiff in the public square for criticizing contentious legislation, Governor DeSantis has made clear that he will use the power of his office to exact retribution against any corporation that dares to “[u]se their economic power to advance” an agenda contrary to his own, or to “become political and not merely economic actors.” The Court should not validate this chilling authoritarian impulse if the promise of the Constitution is to have any meaning in the State of Florida.
Governor DeSantis, by seeking to legislate economic harm on Plaintiff in retaliation for its political opposition, has signaled to the marketplace that it cannot expect the certainty and predictability it requires to safely and profitably do business in the State of Florida. Any business considering expansion or further investment in the state must now take into account not just the business risks any going concern faces, but also the risk of economic retaliation from the Governor if it publicly opposes his political positions.
The officials include Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts Kerry Murphy Healy, and former U.S. Representatives Tom Coleman, Claudine Schneider, and Christopher Shays.
This blow to DeSantis follows a speech from Vice President Kamala earlier this week, in which the Democratic politician criticized the Governor’s changes to the Black history curriculum in public schools.
Who should win the DeSantis Disney war? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.