Disney sues DeSantis, saying he is retaliating against them

Disney filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, alleging that he is conducting a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” over Disney’s public opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law. The suit says that DeSantis is threatening Disney’s profits and violating its First Amendment right to free speech.

How did this whole thing come to be a legal fight? Last year, Disney publicly opposed what many have called the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which protects children in early grades from classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. In response, DeSantis appointed new members to the board of supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District—formerly the Reedy Creek Utility District—effectively taking control of the previously self-governing municipal district that includes Disney World. But before the old Board of Supervisors left, it voted to give the company power over design and construction decisions, as well as the ability to limit the powers of the new Board of Supervisors. The new DeSantis-appointed board members then revoked that decision. Just minutes later, Disney filed its lawsuit in a Tallahassee federal court.

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown’s conversation with Rick Fogelsong on The World and Everything in It podcast about Disney World’s previous autonomy.