As DeSantis seeks Disney probe, Iger accuses him of ‘anti-business’ stance

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for an investigation of the Walt Disney Co.’s new development contract, Disney CEO Bob Iger accused him of engaging in retaliation over the company’s opposition to a law restricting school instruction on sexual orientation.

Speaking at Disney’s annual shareholders meeting Monday, Iger said DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate, sought to “punish a company for the exercise of a constitutional right.”

“The governor got very angry about the position Disney took and seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us, including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business,” Iger said during the question-and-answer portion of the meeting.

DeSantis in 2022 championed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics have called the “don’t say gay” law. The measure prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity for children in Grade 3 and below, sparking a debate that has pitted conservatives against opponents who say the law censors important instruction and harms LGBT children.

After Disney openly opposed the bill, DeSantis pushed a measure through the state legislature to take control of the board that oversees the 39-square-mile district that houses Disney World. But in a final move before DeSantis appointees took over, the outgoing board signed a new contract with the Walt Disney Co. that restricts the new board’s ability to regulate the region and included a clause that extends the agreement until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III of England.

Florida officials have hired four law firms since discovering the royal clause, to attempt to extricate the state from the agreement, according to the Orlando Sentinel. And on Monday, just before the Disney shareholders meeting, DeSantis called on the state’s chief inspector general to conduct a “thorough review and investigation” of the new agreement.

Iger called DeSantis’s position “not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida.” But Florida officials have said Disney should not be allowed to regulate itself.

“While a company has First Amendment rights, it does not have the right to run its own government and operate outside the bounds of Florida law,” said Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’s communications director.