Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suggested this week that Disney could face future problems in the state following the company’s final denunciation “Don’t Say Gay”This bill was signed into law earlier in the week.
After weeks of controversy surrounding Disney’s silence on the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and subsequent walkouts by Disney employees, CEO Bob Chapek apologized and announced a pause in political donations in Florida. On Monday, Disney reacted to the law’s passage by stating that Florida HB 1557 “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,”Adding that the company would work with other organizations to repeal it.
Since then, DeSantis has taken aim at the company several times, including on Thursday when he told reporters that the state government may be re-evaluating Disney’s “special privileges”Florida
“Someone said, ‘Hey, Disney has all these special perks. Should you retaliate against them for them coming out and demagoguing this bill?’ ”He stated. “I don’t believe you ‘retaliate,’ but I think what I would say, as a matter of first principle, I don’t support special privileges in law. Just because a company is powerful and they have been able to wield a lot of power.”
DeSantis refers specifically to a 1967 state statute that allows Walt Disney World’s effective governance. During A appearanceOn “Fox & Friends”Friday’s remarks were doubled by Governor Scott.
“Over many, many decades, they’ve gotten incredible treatment from the Florida legislature. They are treated on a pedestal,”He said it on the show. “This one corporation is treated differently than everybody else. That’s not something I’ve ever supported, but now in the legislature, you see a movement to re-evaluate those special privileges.”
He said, “At the end of the day, I think Disney has gotten over its skis on this. Look, there’s policy disputes, and that’s fine. But when you’re trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant threat. This wokeness will destroy this country if we let it run unabated.”
The “Don’t Say Gay”The bill will take effect July 1 and make it illegal for primary school teachers in the United States to give classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. Teachers of all grades are also prohibited from teaching these topics if they do not consider them to be important. “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate”Their students.
The debacle has proven a major headache for Disney and Chapek, sparking outcry from many in its labor force, Hollywood and social media. The company was also condemned by the LGBTQ+ organizations GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, (HRC), and others. When Disney attempted to smooth things over with a donation to the HRC, the organization rejected the money, saying it was only “a first step.” In a letter obtained by , Chapek – who had previously defended the company’s decision not to get involved – issued an apology to Disney employees.