Disney CEO calls DeSantis' measures 'anti-business' as Florida governor takes aim at woke policies

Disney’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger lashed out against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, calling his recent actions “anti-business” and “anti-Florida.” 

Last year, Disney vocally opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which limits the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms with students aged nine or younger.

In response, DeSantis’ administration removed Disney’s autonomy over the area surrounding its Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, a measure that had been implemented more than 50 years ago. 

In February, Florida lawmakers passed a bill that gave DeSantis control over the board that oversees the special taxation district. After signing the bill into law, DeSantis named five supervisors to oversee the board. 

“The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said during a press event at the time of the signing. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”

During the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Monday, Iger said that DeSantis “decided to retaliate against us” because he “got very angry about the position Disney took” despite the company’s right to express opinions. 

“It seems like he's decided to retaliate against us, including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business, in effect to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right," Iger said. "That just seems really wrong to me."

"These efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida," Iger added. 

Despite the feud between the administration and the company, Iger added that Disney plans to expand its investment in Florida, spending $17 billion over the next decade and adding an additional 13,000 jobs to its existing 75,000 people workforce.