Disney Sues DeSantis, Alleging Political Effort to Hurt Business

Walt Disney Co. sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, alleging he is retaliating against the company for speaking against his policies and threatening billions of dollars in business.

The company filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Florida.

“A targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights,” Disney claims.

The company said DeSantis’s threat to “void” publicly noticed and duly agreed contracts “was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional.”

Read More: Bob Iger on Ron DeSantis, Creativity, and the Future of Disney

Disney asked the court for an order declaring DeSantis’s actions unlawful.

The lawsuit came amid an escalating dispute over a five-member board that DeSantis appointed to oversee government services at Disney World, which employs 75,000 people.