Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. is suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, following the state’s latest attempts to exert control over the company’s theme parks. On Wednesday, April 26, Disney filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, alleging that the governor has waged a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power.”
The complaint comes soon after the board of supervisors, picked by DeSantis to oversee Walt Disney World’s operations, moved to undo a development deal that it says Disney struck to thwart its power.
Disney is alleging “a targeted campaign of government retaliation – orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for its protected speech,” according to the lawsuit.
The company claims that this “threatens its business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”
The feud between DeSantis and Disney started in 2022 when the company publicly opposed a state law banning classroom discussion of sexuality and gender identity in younger school grades. DeSantis said that opposition crossed a line.
Gov. DeSantis is currently on an international trip overseas, and his office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.