The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are named in Disney's lawsuit against them

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District | The Walt Disney Company | Ron DeSantis | Central Florida: The Walt Disney Company's 77-page lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his entire Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board provides a detailed account of the history of the conflict between the entertainment behemoth and the state of Florida for the first time from Disney's point of view.

It is an interesting read and offers wonderful insight into Disney's thinking over the past few years in dealing with a Florida Governor who has become increasingly unfriendly. Here are some of the key points made by Disney in the filing, in case you don't have time to read it all.

Disney was penalised by the State for voicing its views over state legislation.

"State leaders' justifications for governmental action have not been covered in subtlety. The claim that Disney deserved this fate as a result of what Disney said has been made with pride. As an instance of retribution, this one is as obvious as this Court is ever likely to see.

"Disney is now forced to defend itself against a State weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment."

"In America, you cannot be punished by the government for speaking your mind."

"On March 30, State Representative Spencer Roach stated for the first time that the Legislature was considering abolishing RCID and said, 'If Disney wants to embrace woke thinking, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.' Behind the scenes, Governor DeSantis has been coordinating the action. In his memoir, he writes, "I needed to be certain that the Legislature would be willing to take on the potentially difficult subject involving the state's most powerful enterprise. 

Chris Sprowls, the House Speaker, expressed interest when I asked him whether he would be willing to do it. Here's the deal, I said, "OK." "There can be no leaks; we need to work on this in a very tight circle." No one could have predicted this, so we need the element of surprise.

"House Bill 9B was a measure intended to target Disney and Disney alone, much like Senate Bill 4C was. In order to give the Governor the ability to retaliate against Disney for its protected speech on House Bill 1557, it transferred the authority to choose the District's board from the District's landowners, including its largest landowner, Disney. "There's a new sheriff in town and that's just the way it's going to be," Governor DeSantis stated of House Bill 9B in remarks to reporters on February 8, 2023.

Disney has no alternative but to file this lawsuit against the State of Florida, asking the court to prevent it from using the government's power against private companies after exhausting all other possibilities.