Disney Tells Investors, DeSantis Could Negatively Impact Business

In March 2022, the mostly courteous and symbiotic relationship between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took a nosedive. Now-fired CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against a state bill championed by the Governor. DeSantis did not take kindly to Chapek’s words and immediately started working with the Florida legislature to punish the Mouse House. Since the fight began, Walt Disney World Resort has been stripped of its right to self-govern, the monorail has fallen under state inspection control, and Nazis are protesting outside the gates.

Disney is currently suing the Governor for violating its First Amendment rights. CEO Bob Chapek has also said that all the issues that Disney is having with DeSantis have not impacted its business. Disney made just under $8 billion in revenue in the second quarter alone. However, in a recent filing with the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission), Disney stated that, if things continue along the current path, Governor DeSantis and the Florida legislature — which is Republican-run — will have a negative impact on its business operations.

Per the new SEC filing:

New laws and regulations, as well as changes in any of these current laws and regulations or regulator activities in any of these areas, or others, may require us to spend additional amounts to comply with the regulations, or may restrict our ability to offer products and services in ways that are profitable, and create an increasingly unpredictable regulatory landscape…. In Florida, steps directed at the Company (including the passage of legislation) have been taken and future actions have been threatened, which collectively could negatively impact (and may have already impacted) our ability to execute on our business strategy, our costs and the profitability of our operations in Florida.

Disney officially filed a lawsuit against Governor DeSantis and the new board controlling Reedy Creek on April 26. Since then, the Governor has spent more than $6 million in taxpayer money on fighting the company. DeSantis doesn’t seem too worried about the legal fight that he has to deal with while running for President. However, legal experts are pretty much in agreement that DeSantis will not win if the lawsuit actually proceeds to trial.

The Governor has frequently spoken about his battle against Disney, and even wrote about it in his new book. Legal experts have said that this could hurt his case. DeSantis has admitted that he did not start targeting Disney until after they spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Bill. Despite the problems his own words could cause, DeSantis has said that he is “not backing down one inch.” Disney has also taken the Governor’s statements and included them in the lawsuit.