On April 21, the Florida legislature passed a pair of bills aimed at Disney—weeks into the company’s feud with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over its objections to a new law (the “Don’t Say Gay” statute) that limits certain classroom discussion on sexual orientation and gender identity, CNN reported.
One of the bills would eliminate the unique status that allows Disney to operate as an independent government around its Orlando-area theme parks. The other would eliminate a Disney carve-out in a social media bill that was signed into law last year but put on hold by a federal judge.
Disney drew the wrath of DeSantis and Florida Republicans earlier this year over legislation that prohibits schools from teaching young children about sexual orientation or gender identity.
After initially declining to take a stand, Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly criticized Florida lawmakers for passing the “Don’t Say Gay” measure and apologized to the company’s LGBTQ+ employees for not being a stronger advocate. Chapek then announced that the company would stop making political donations in Florida after decades of contributing generously, mostly to Republicans—including a $50,000 donation to DeSantis’ re-election effort.