The ongoing feud between Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) and Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis threatens to envelop Disney World.
What Happened: DeSantis touched on repealing a 55-year old Florida law that allows Disney to govern the Walt Disney World. The governor’s comments came after the entertainment giant opposed Florida’s controversial parental rights law, according to a report from Fox News.
“What I would say as a matter of first principle is I don’t support special privileges in law just because a company is powerful and they’ve been able to wield a lot of power,” said DeSantis, according to Fox News.
A Republican member of the Florida legislature Spencer Roach tweeted that a second meeting was held by legislators to discuss the repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows “Disney to act as its own government.”
Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County. pic.twitter.com/6sj29Gj6Wz
— SpencerRoach (@SpencerRoachFL) March 30, 2022
“If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County,” said Roach.
See Also: How To Buy Disney (DIS) stock
Why It Matters: DeSantis said that the special privileges enjoyed by Disney are not “justifiable” but because of the company’s sway they were able to sustain “a lot of special treatment over the years,” reported Fox News.
The law in question, Florida’s HB 1557, has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This week, Disney said that the bill should “never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”
The legislation prohibits teaching classes related to gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. The bill was signed Monday and takes effect July 1.
DeSantis struck back at the theme park operator after Disney said in a statement that its goal as a company is for this “law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”
Price Action: On Thursday, Disney shares closed 2.7% lower at $137.16 in the regular session and rose 0.5% in the after-hours trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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