by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:45 AM ET, Thu April 27, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that a
recent lawsuit brought forth by Disney
was “politically motivated,” and the company retaliated after the local
government stopped providing the company with “favorable treatment.”
According to The
Associated Press, Disney announced a lawsuit against Governor DeSantis
after the Republican official appointed a board of supervisors to the company’s
self-governed theme park district.
Disney believes Governor
DeSantis and his administration have waged a “targeted campaign of
government retaliation” after the theme park company openly challenged Florida’s
“Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
“They’re upset because they’re having to live by the same
rules as everybody else,” DeSantis said. “They don’t want to pay the same taxes
as everybody else and they want to be able to control things without proper
oversight.”
“The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no
accountability are over in the state of Florida,” DeSantis continued.
Disney’s federal lawsuit says the state government violated the
company’s free speech rights when the governor took over the theme
park district and installed a new oversight board. The legal action is the
latest in a year-long feud between the two sides.
Previously, DeSantis took over Disney’s self-governing
district and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services.
Before the new officials took over, though, Disney passed a rule barring the
new supervisors from having any real authority.
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