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Disney v. DeSantis

''Disney v. DeSantis'' was a lawsuit brought against Florida governor Ron DeSantis by the Parks, Experiences and Products division of The Walt Disney Company in 2023 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The plaintiff claims that DeSantis, with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity acting secretary Meredith Ivey and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, violated the company's First Amendment rights by using government power to exact political retaliation.

The dispute began when Disney officials, under pressure from customers and employees, expressed disapproval for the proposed Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which had been labeled by reporters, protesters, and counter-protesters as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. After DeSantis responded angrily to Disney's disapproval, the Florida State Legislature repealed the Reedy Creek Improvement Act that had established a special governance and taxing district around Walt Disney World.

Critics of Disney argued that the district should have been reformed long before as it gave the company too much self-governing power. Critics of DeSantis argue that he made Florida's government harmful to doing business with gay people, undermined a business's right to free speech, and is hurting one of the state's largest employers and taxpayers. Among his critics were other Republican leaders, including then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and then-fellow presidential candidates Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

A federal judge ruled in favor of DeSantis on January 31, 2024. A spokesperson for Disney said the company was undeterred by the ruling and intended to press forward with their case. The next day, Disney filed an appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 27, 2024, Disney settled its pending state court lawsuits with DeSantis. Per the agreement, Disney put the appeal of their federal lawsuit on hold while negotiations regarding a new development agreement play out. The settlement came a day after DeSantis replaced two Disney critics on the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District with Disney supporters and two weeks after The Parental Rights in Education Act was largely overturned by a court. Provided by Wikipedia