DeSantis Set to Strike Back Against Disney Tactic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was expected Monday to announce plans by the state Legislature to invalidate a controversial tactic by Disney that effectively stripped the governor’s newly installed oversight board of authority, sources told the New York Post.

“What they tried to do is an embarrassment,” a senior administration source said. “The narrative the left is spinning is that Gov. DeSantis was outmaneuvered. But this is far from over, and he’s going to have the last laugh.”

Disney “got used to doing whatever they wanted for far too long,” one source said. “Not this time,” adding that DeSantis is “not afraid of a fight on this.” 

The fight between DeSantis and Disney started last year when the state’s largest employer objected publicly to a Florida bill that banned instruction connected to sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade, according to the New York Post.

In retaliation, DeSantis in February fired the five members of Disney’s more than five decades-old self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District and put in their place his own Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

But Disney appeared to strike back when, just before stepping down, members of the previous board controlled by the corporate giant passed covenants that transferred developmental power to the company, leaving DeSantis’ new body largely without real power, including blocking the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District from using the name “Disney” or the likenesses of its famed characters without company permission.

However, senior DeSantis administration officials said Disney broke the law by intentionally limiting legally required public notices of the new deal to shield it from scrutiny and make it easier to pass.

“The Florida Legislature and Governor DeSantis worked to put Disney on an even playing field,” said communications chief Taryn Fenske. “Disney got caught red-handed attempting to undermine Florida’s duly enacted legislation.”

Disney denied the charges, saying the changes complied with Florida’s public meeting laws, the Post reported.

“All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law,” Disney said in a recent statement.