Ron DeSantis shunned Bob Iger's attempts at opening talks amid Disney's ongoing legal battle with the Florida Governor

Nov 29, 2023 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Bob Iger

Posted: Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:44pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

As part of a wide-reaching interview at the DealBook conference today, Disney CEO Bob Iger again commented on the ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Notably, Iger said that his attempts to have a conversation with DeSantis were rebuffed. Iger said, "I offered, at some point through intermediaries, the ability to have a conversation with him, but he did not; he did not take me up on that offer."

Ron DeSantis at Reedy Creek Improvement District

Elaborating on the situation in Florida, Iger said, "The company, while I was gone, decided to take a position against the Don't Say Gay bill that was moving through the Florida Legislature. I won't comment about what I would have done or not done, but the company took that position against it. The governor got very, very angry at the company when it took that position and decided to punish the company by basically stripping its rights to a special district around Disney World that had been in place for decades. The question wasn't even about the bill. It was about does a company have a right to free speech. And if it exercises its right to free speech, it should not face retribution."

Judge Allen Winsor will hear arguments on December 12 at 9:30 am at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee as CFTOD tries to dismiss the lawsuit Walt Disney Parks and Resorts filed against DeSantis and his Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.

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castlecake2.03 days ago

Yes

Stripes3 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt3 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee3 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o4 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian4 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt4 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude814 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian4 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude814 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o4 days ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus4 days ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf4 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus4 days ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.