AURN News with Ebony McMorris

Disney Takes Legal Action Against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Oversight Board

The feud has been ongoing for the past year but has escalated in recent weeks as DeSantis moves towards a 2024 presidential bid. Disney's legal action seeks an injunction that would block the board from exercising the power DeSantis and the Republican-led legislature sought to hand it.

Ebony McMorris
April 26, 2023

FILE - People visit Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Friday, April 22, 2022. Florida lawmakers are meeting to complete a state takeover of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district and expand a migrant relocation program. The GOP-controlled Legislature is returning to Tallahassee on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023 for a special session that is expected to deliver key conservative priorities of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of his anticipated White House run in 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

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Disney has filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his oversight board, accusing them of retaliating against the company for exercising its free speech rights. The lawsuit comes after the board voted to invalidate an agreement struck between Disney and the previous board just before the current board was appointed by DeSantis.

The feud has been ongoing for the past year but has escalated in recent weeks as DeSantis moves towards a 2024 presidential bid. Disney’s legal action seeks an injunction that would block the board from exercising the power DeSantis and the Republican-led legislature sought to hand it. The fight now shifts to the courts, where the outcome remains to be seen.

FILE – A sign near the entrance of the Reedy Creek Improvement District administration building is seen on Feb. 6, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The first meeting of the new board of Walt Disney World’s government — overhauled by sweeping legislation signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as an apparent punishment for Disney publicly challenging Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill — dealt with the rote affairs any other municipal government handles. Board members on Wednesday, March 8, faced calls for better firefighter equipment, lessons on public records requests and bond ratings. They replaced a board that had been controlled by Disney during the previous 55 years that the government operated as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Regardless of the result, the feud has highlighted the tension between corporate interest and political power and the importance of free speech rights in American society.

Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris is a native Washingtonian and University of South Carolina alumna. Her passion is mentoring young adults by teaching community empowerment and media education. She is an NAB member and board member of the Thurgood Marshall Center and was presented the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of community service under the Obama Administration.