Ron DeSantis, who continues his legal battle with Disney, has urged Disney CEO Bob Iger to “drop the lawsuit” in a recent interview with CNBC.
- DeSantis seemed confident in the interview regarding the ongoing legal battle with Disney:
- “They’re suing the state of Florida. They’re going to lose that lawsuit.”
- When the Florida Governor was asked what he would say to Iger if they were to speak, he kept his answer simple:
- “So what I would say is, drop the lawsuit.”
- DeSantis once again referenced the “special privileges” and pointed at the success of Universal and SeaWorld in Orlando:
- “Your competitors all do very well here, Universal, SeaWorld. They have not had the same special privileges as you have.”
- DeSantis doubled down, explaining that he wants to put everyone on a level playing field:
- “So all we want to do is treat everybody the same, and let’s move forward. I’m totally fine with that. But I’m not fine with giving extraordinary privileges, you know, to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else.”
- Disney’s lawsuit alleges DeSantis “orchestrated at every step” a campaign of government retaliation “as punishment for Disney’s protected speech.”
- This came after a long back and forth that saw former Disney CEO Bob Chapek speak out against DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill and DeSantis implement the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board to put the district under his control.
- DeSantis also said in the interview that he and his allies have “basically moved on” from the feud with Disney, however, as CNBC notes, he has “frequently invoked” the ongoing battle on the campaign trail has he hopes to earn the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
- DeSantis has accused Disney of sexualizing children, which Iger has said is “preposterous and inaccurate.”