Florida Judge Rejects Disney’s Request to Dismiss Lawsuit Against Governor DeSantis Over ‘Woke’ Controversy.
On Friday, a Florida judge, Walt Disney Co., has rejected a request to dismiss a lawsuit in a speculative district that could make it difficult to push for a part of the case against Governor Ron DeSantis on behalf of the entertainment giant.
This ruling allows the speculative district to pursue its case against Disney, which seeks to invalidate the company’s favorable “Vacuum Deal” that had clashed with a previous district board earlier this year. If these contracts are invalidated, the district has claimed it would almost wipe out Disney’s federal lawsuit against DeSantis.
A Disney spokesperson said there is “no impact” on the company’s federal case in a statement, stating, “We are fully confident that Disney will prevail in both federal and state courts.”
A spokesperson for the speculative district declined to comment.
The conflict started last year when discussions about sexuality and gender identity with young children were banned in classrooms, and DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidency nomination, repeatedly attacked “woke Disney” in public comments.
DeSantis called for a special session to pass the law, which restructured the district as the Central Florida Tourism Oversite District and transferred power from Disney to the governor’s board. The law’s sponsor also retroactively cancelled those contracts, which had been negotiated with Disney under DeSantis’s previous control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District Board.
In April, Disney filed a lawsuit against the governor in federal court, claiming that DeSantis “weaponized” the state against the company for violating the class gender discussion law.
Disney seeks to enjoin the federal court from applying the law directed at the company, to block the state from interfering and to reinstate favorable development agreements with Disney that were clashed with the previous district board.
