Disney decided to go “woke” and get directly involved with politics.
The company even tried to circumvent Florida law.
But Ron DeSantis hit back at Disney after one shady move.
Disney is one of the worst offenders of corporate wokeism.
The company peppers left-wing messaging throughout its theme parks and media programming.
But Disney went a bridge too far when it decided to publicly attack Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and state Republicans over the Parental Rights in Education Bill.
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek caved to leftist activists within the company and joined the chorus of left-wing mouthpieces who were smearing the parental rights legislation as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In reality, the bill simply prohibited public school employees from having classroom discussions about sexuality and gender identity with kids in kindergarten through third grade.
Even a majority of Florida Democrats agreed with the legislation.
But Disney’s campaign came at a cost.
DeSantis removed a special tax exemption given to Disney and no other company in the state that allowed it to have control of the Reedy Creek District, home of the Magic Kingdom.
The area would now be under the supervision of the state of Florida.
However, Disney tried to pull a fast one and usurp oversight.
NBC News reported that “the day before the Florida House voted to put DeSantis in charge, the previous Disney-allied board signed a long-lasting development agreement that drastically limits the control that can be exercised over the company and its district. As part of a 30-year development agreement, Disney no longer needs board approval to build high-density projects or buildings of any height and can sell or assign development rights. It also bans the board from using Disney’s name or any of its characters.”
The corporate press was downright giddy thinking Disney was getting the last laugh with DeSantis.
However, the maneuver by the old board isn’t likely to hold up.
Apparently, Disney skipped important steps that invalidated the move to undercut the incoming supervisory board.
The Federalist reported that local municipalities “are required to take three steps when making changes to special district agreements such as the one that established Disney’s quasi-governmental status. They must hold two public hearings, advertise those hearings in a local newspaper, and offer notice by mail to ‘all affected property owners before the first public hearing.’”
Disney did not follow the procedure, especially the third step, which means the Mouse House gambit will probably get shot down in Republican-friendly Florida court.
A source in the DeSantis administration told The New York Post, “What they tried to do is an embarrassment…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.”
The source said Disney’s “poison pill” maneuver was illegal, so the celebration from liberals will be short-lived.
DeSantis is doing what many Republicans have been afraid to do for a long time – fight back against the radical left.