Disney vows to beat Ron DeSantis in woke row as CEO boasts to investors he will 'quiet the noise'
DeSantis has accused the company of being "woke"
Reuters/Wikimedia Commons
The Walt Disney CEO told investors that the company will “quiet the noise” and end the woke war its currently fighting against the conservative Governor of Florida.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has led the company in a culture war against Ron DeSantis and social conservatives in Florida.
Speaking to investors at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday (September 19), Iger announced the company would double its investments in theme parks and cruise ships over the next 10 years.
The CEO claimed that the company has “over 1,000 acres of land” with a $60million budget to expand the theme park.
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It is unclear how much of the $60million investment will be spent in Florida.
The media giant and the republicans are currently locked in a legal battle over the formation of Central Florida Oversight District board, which encompasses Disney’s parks in Florida.
The dispute began last year, when Disney denounced Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education Law in 2022.
The legislation restricts classroom discussion of sexual orientation and identity.
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In retaliation, republican lobby-makers stripped “woke Disney” of their self-governing authority they had over the area.
The move gave power to DeSantis, who gained control of the board which governs the company’s 25,000 acres of land and renamed the locality the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which was previously called the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Disney countered this decision by filing a federal lawsuit against the board and DeSantis, that preserved its interests in the land until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England living as of the date of this declaration”.
DeSantis was dealt a major blow after the outgoing board enabled Disney to oversee the district in perpetuity.
Items with a rainbow-coloured design are seen in a Pride section of a gift shop at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida
Reuters
The board then filed a lawsuit in retaliation against Disney.
Alongside the district battle, conservatives have slated Disney for hiring black actress Halle Berry to play The Little Mermaid.
Meanwhile, several countries last year banned showings of Pixar’s Lightyear, which features a same sex couple kissing.