Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just took control of Walt Disney World
euronews.comWalt Disney World’s self-governing district in response to Disney’s opposition of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.If that sentence looks almost AI-generated, let’s unpack it for you.
First off, the Republican politician DeSantis is one of the tipped front-runners for the 2024 US Presidential Elections. Last year, DeSantis signed a bill that bars lessons for kindergartens to third-grade students from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity.The controversial bill is known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law in Florida, and the Disney company’s then-CEO Bob Chapek publicly opposed the DeSantis and Republican bill in March.In an act of what is seemingly petty revenge, DeSantis has spent the last year trying to punish the company by dissolving the self-governing district the company has for its theme parks in Florida.The creation of the self-governing district was instrumental in Disney's decision to build near Orlando in the 1960s.
The company had told the state it planned to build a futuristic city that would include a transit system and urban planning innovations, so the company needed autonomy in building and deciding how to use the land.
The futuristic city never materialised and instead morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982.DeSantis directed lawmakers in the Republican-dominated legislature to bring the self-governing district back under Republican control.
