South Carolina Joins Florida in a $105 Million Blow to ‘Woke’ Disney

When the Walt Disney Company’s feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis first started, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley invited Disney to move Walt Disney World to the Palmetto State. It wasn’t so much a serious offer, but Haley was ribbing her opponent for the Republican nomination for president. As much as the rest of us did, Haley knew that moving the Walt Disney World Resort would be impossible. But now it appears that the southern hospitality that Haley extended no longer applies to the Walt Disney Company.

Related: Disney is Accused of Being ‘Woke’ What Exactly Does That Mean? 

South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis has announced that the state will no longer invest in the Walt Disney Company, citing its “woke” agenda and “far-left activism” for the state abandoning the company. South Carolina currently has $105 million in debt instruments, which it does not plan on replacing. A debt instrument is essentially a bond that Disney sells to investors to pay for improvements to its theme parks. The state will have to continue to hold its $105 million in Disney bonds, but it does not plan on purchasing any more of them.

Loftis said in a press release: 

Disney has abandoned its fiduciary responsibilities to its investors and customers by joining far-left activist in boycotting legal, taxpaying, employment-creating corporations to further Disney’s political agenda. Multi-billion-dollar corporations should not engage in boycotts designed to silence legitimate debate. Since America’s founding, freedom of speech has been one of its core principals, and Disney should not engage in nefarious practices aimed at silencing those with less power and money.

It is unclear exactly how Disney is “silencing those with less power and money.” If anything, the Walt Disney Company is the one that was silenced in Florida. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. As a result, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature stripped Disney of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Disney is suing Governor DeSantis in Federal Court, claiming that the governor infringed on its First Amendment Right to Free Speech and government retaliation for removing Disney’s Special District. Disney is also suing the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in State Court, claiming that the District violated the Contract Clause of the Constitution.

South Carolina will still receive the money from Disney, but this announcement from Loftis will disallow the state from any further investment in the Walt Disney Company. For Disney, the loss of such a small investor will not be to its detriment. It is nearly the same amount that the company lost on Strange World (2022). 

However, with Disney becoming a punching bag of the conservative right, more states are likely to follow, potentially hurting Disney’s business moving forward, especially if pension funds follow suit. But for now, it’s one state and a minimal amount for Disney to lose.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.