Disney CEO Comments On Fight With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger has commented on the ongoing legal battle it is waging against Florida governor Ron DeSantis. As part of the company's latest earnings briefing, Iger said Disney's recently filed lawsuit speaks for itself. That said, he reiterated that it is Disney's belief that DeSantis is trying to strip away Disney's special Reedy Creek district as a means of retaliation for Disney's opposition to the «Don't Say Gay» legislation in Florida.
«This is about one thing and one thing only, and that's retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position, we are merely exercising our right to free speech. Also, this is not about special privileges or a level playing field or Disney in any way using its leverage around the state of Florida,» Iger said.
DeSantis is seeking to remove Disney's «special district» status in Orlando. Walt Disney himself convinced Florida legislators back in the '60s to give him a special district allowing the company to act semi-autonomously on its grounds when the entertainment legend was establishing EPCOT as a real city of the future. The city never panned out. But the Reedy Creek district and special status remained, and Disney has benefitted in a business sense for decades.
Iger pointed out that Florida has more than 2,000 of these special districts--the Daytona Motor Speedway being one of them. These special districts have allowed Disney and others to benefit financially by making it easier to do business. Iger said he recognizes this has been a beneficial thing for Disney, but he also pointed out that Disney's parks in Florida employ over 75,000 people and attract «tens of millions» of people to Florida.
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