Disney chief Bob Iger calls DeSantis' actions 'anti-business'

A family walks past a castle at Walt Disney World in Florida.

By Meg JamesSenior Entertainment Writer

April 3, 2023 11:50 AM PT

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger on Monday shot back at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis amid an escalating tussle over the company’s political positions and its ability to self-govern its expansive resorts in the Sunshine State.

The dispute has been simmering since Disney took a public stand a year ago on Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation that bans public school discussions about sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade. After Disney’s then-chief, Bob Chapek, said the company opposed the bill, DeSantis lashed out, leading an effort to strip the company’s self-governing powers for its parks in central Florida.

The Burbank entertainment giant has since countered DeSantis’ moves in an attempt to preserve its special status.

During Disney’s annual meeting of shareholders Monday, Iger acknowledged the tensions with DeSantis, which one Florida investor worried might continue to reverberate throughout the state. Iger described the governor as being “very angry with the position Disney took.”

“A company has a right to freedom of speech just like individuals do,” Iger said. “It seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us.”

Earlier Monday, the Republican governor ordered an investigation into whether Disney had colluded to illegally bypass a new state law that sought to strip the entertainment company of its governing authority in a 43-square-mile region that is home to Walt Disney World, Epcot and other resorts. In 1967, in an effort to lure the company to the state, Florida granted Disney sweeping powers over its land use.

DeSantis seized on the dust-up with Disney, accusing Disney of being a “woke” corporation. The governor, who is widely expected to run for president, rallied political supporters, saying “Florida is where woke goes to die.”

At the governor’s urging, Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill to eliminate the Disney-aligned Reedy Creek Improvement District and transfer its powers to a newly created Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which is made up of DeSantis’ political appointees.

Iger took issue with the formation of the new board to oversee Disney’s properties, saying it appeared designed “to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right.”

“That just seems really wrong to me,” Iger said.

But before DeSantis signed the measure into law in February, Reedy Creek supervisors met and adopted a new development framework intended to outlast DeSantis and like-minded supporters by hollowing out enforcement powers over Disney by the new board.

The Reedy Creek provisions preserved Disney’s development authority in perpetuity, or at least until 21 years “after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England,” according to the measure.

DeSantis and other Florida leaders only learned of the Reedy Creek gambit last week.

In Monday’s letter to Florida’s inspector general, DeSantis demanded “a thorough review and investigation” into actions of the Reedy Creek supervisors earlier this year. The governor’s office said the review was intended to explore whether civil or criminal laws had been violated.

DeSantis blasted Disney’s efforts.

“These collusive and self-dealing arrangements aim to nullify the recently passed legislation, undercut Florida’s legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians,” DeSantis wrote in the letter to Inspector General Melinda Miguel and Mark Glass, commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

DeSantis instructed his appointees to explore “the involvement of Walt Disney World employees and agents in the execution of [the Reedy Creek] actions” and whether Walt Disney World received “any financial gain or benefit,” from the actions of the previous board.

The annual meeting marked Iger’s first gathering with shareholders since he returned to lead the company in November after Chapek was ousted. Since then, Iger has worked to reshape Disney’s chain of command around its creative leaders — not business executives. He also initiated a plan to find $5.5 billion in savings, including by eliminating 7,000 jobs.

During the meeting, Iger acknowledged that Disney stumbled last year in its efforts to oppose the Florida legislation, but said the company had a right to stand up for cultural issues that it believes in.

Iger also noted that Disney is the largest taxpayer in Florida, that it employs more than 75,000 workers and that it helps bring millions of visitors to the state each year, boosting the state’s tourism. He also announced the company plans to invest $17 billion more in its Florida parks and resorts over the next decade, which should create 13,000 new jobs.

He said the company’s relationship with the state government should be “a two-way street.”

“Our point on this is that any action that thwarts those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti- Florida,” Iger said. “And I’ll just leave it at that.”

Bob Iger arriving at the Academy Awards in 2020.

The company is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year, as well as 50 years in Florida.

Although the meeting was held virtually, Iger prerecorded parts of his presentation from Walt Disney World and Epcot in Orlando, Fla.

“We love the state of Florida,” Iger said.

“That’s reflected in not only how much we’ve invested over the last 50 years, but how much we have given back in the form of jobs and community service, taxes, tourism and other responsible business practices,” Iger said.

“We’ve also always respected and appreciated what the state has done for us.”

Political overtones punctuated the meeting that is typically a celebration of Disney fandom.

One shareholder complained that Disney was taking a too overt role in promoting a progressive agenda, including gay-pride parades at Disney parks.

“Over the last few years, Disney has turned from a place of magic for children to an ideological company serving LGBTQ” issues, the shareholder said during the meeting. “Over and over again, we see how your films and entertainment are increasingly promoting the ‘woke’ agenda.”

Iger responded that the company’s goal was to be “accessible to all people,” and that, over the decades, Disney’s stories “have had an amazingly positive impact on the world.”

But Iger also tried to strike a balance, saying he recognized the concerns of some parents.

“Our primary mission needs to be to entertain,” Iger said. “It should not be agenda driven.”

He added: “We should be sensitive to the fact that parents have different levels of comfort with the content delivered to their children. We’re committed to delivering age appropriate content for family audiences, while also telling stories that reflect the world around us.”

Outgoing Disney Chairman Susan Arnold opened the virtual meeting, and expressed gratitude for her 15 years on the board. The meeting was her last official act as she turned over the reins to incoming Chairman Mark Parker, a seven-year member of the board and executive chairman of Nike.

Shareholders also approved the election of the company’s 11 board members, including Iger.

However, investors rejected three shareholder proposals, including a measure that would have demanded that Disney submit a report documenting its campaign support for state politicians in Florida.

Disney chief Bob Iger calls Gov. DeSantis’ actions ‘anti-business and anti-Florida’

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