The feud between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is escalating as he moves closer to entering the 2024 race for president.
In a quarterly earnings call with investors this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger questioned whether the state wanted its massive economic investment at all, according to audio posted online by the company.
Lawyers for Disney have already filed a lawsuit in federal court over the state trying to scrap Disney World’s self-government, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but Iger’s lengthy response to a question are his longest public statement on the issue.
"Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes? Or not?” asked Iger.
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The battle began last year when Disney publicly opposed The Parental Rights in Education Act the governor signed into law. The measure, which opponents dubbed the "Don’t Say Gay" law, limited discussion on gender and sexuality in Florida classrooms for younger grades. The original has since been expanded by the state.
The governor and his allies in the Florida legislature are now trying to get rid of Disney’s decades-old deal allowing the company to govern itself. Iger accuses the state of unfairly targeting Disney, saying many of the almost 2,000 other special districts in the state have not faced the same scrutiny. Iger specifically pointed to the district surrounding the Daytona Speedway and The Villages, a wealthy retirement community.
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"This is about one thing and one thing only and that's retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position, we are merely exercising our right to free speech,” Iger said on the call.
The governor has not backed down from the public feud, dedicating a chapter of his new autobiography to the political showdown.
"You can't have a situation where the legislature has spoken and one company just decides to contract out against the will of the people," DeSantis told the conservative news outlet Newsmax. "At the end of the day, they just have to understand the party is over for them."
NBC6 reached out to the governor’s office requesting a response to Iger’s comments and have not yet heard back.
In conservative Lake County, some forty miles from Walt Disney World, many tell NBC News they support the governor, like Mikey Young.
"I'm definitely on DeSantis' side. Go woke, go broke,” Young said.
Other voters doubt whether DeSantis’s rhetoric matches his record.
"What he's going around the country and now the world saying is that Florida is free, that he's made us more free. He hasn't made us more free,” said Susan Perry.
The question on the quarterly earnings call came from Phil Cusick, an analyst from JPMorgan Chase and Company.
"And Bob, Florida is such a big part of the value of the company, but you have this political issue that only seems to get more press. It seems like you’re stuck with this fight. So how should investors think about the risk, both the near-term and long-term business for Disney?” asked Cusick.
Iger provided a lengthy answer.
"We all know there was no concerted effort to do anything to dismantle what was once called Reedy Creek special district until we spoke out on the legislation. So this is plainly a matter of retaliation while the rest of the Florida special districts continue operating basically as they were,” said Iger.
The CEO noted over the next ten years the company was going to invest $17 billion into the Florida properties.
“We’re proud of the tourism industry that we created, and we want to continue delivering the best possible experience for guests going forward," said Iger, “We never wanted, and we certainly never expected to be in the position of having to defend our business interests in federal court."
