The board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to oversee Walt Disney World‘s special governing district has filed a lawsuit against Disney.
This is the latest in an escalating battle between DeSantis and the entertainment giant. It comes just days after Disney filed a lawsuit against the governor, saying he had subjected the company to “a targeted campaign of government retaliation”.
Via Forbes, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, run by a five-member board named by DeSantis, filed the lawsuit in a Tallahassee federal court on Monday (1 May).
“Since Disney sued us – yes, we didn’t sue Disney, Disney sued us – we have no choice now but to respond,” board chair Martin Garcia told CNN. “Yes, we’ll seek justice in our own backyard.”
“This board is trying to bring new and better ideas to the district,” Garcia said in statement to NBC News. “It makes sense to all my friends on the right and left.”
Disney filed its own suit on 26 April against DeSantis and other Florida officials over an alleged “relentless campaign to weaponize government power” in retaliation for “expressing a political viewpoint”.
“In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind,” Disney said in its legal filing.
The feud between Disney and DeSantis started when the former opposed the governor’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.
Escalating battle for theme park control
In February, DeSantis took control over Disney World’s special governing district, which was previously called the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
In March, however, the new board said it had been stripped of many of its powers after Disney entered a series of development agreements with the former board.
In a shareholders meeting last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger called DeSantis’ actions “anti-business” and “anti-Florida”. He also revealed plans to spend more than $17 billion on Disney World over the next 10 years.
Images: Disney
