Disney’s Bob Iger rips Ron DeSantis’ move to ‘punish’ company

Disney CEO Bob Iger slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move to “punish” the Mouse House for its stance on the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year – even as DeSantis vowed to investigate Disney’s recent legal maneuvering.

At Disney’s annual shareholder meeting on Monday, Iger addressed the Mouse House’s power struggle with the governor over Reedy Creek, Disney’s special tax district.

“It seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us,” Iger said, noting that the move was an attempt “to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right.”

“That seems really wrong to me,” added Iger, who returned to helm the company as CEO late last year following the ousting of Bob Chapek.

DeSantis ordered state officials on Monday to conduct a “thorough review and investigation” into Disney’s recent move to undercut the governor’s control over Reedy Creek.

Last week, Disney’s autonomous board quietly signed a deal that stripped the succeeding board of power just a day before state lawmakers gave DeSantis the authority to take over the body.

In late February, DeSantis signed into law a measure dissolving the Orlando-based district after Disney declared its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which puts limits on teaching sex and gender education to youngsters.

Iger fielded questions from shareholders over how the battle could impact Florida taxpayers and whether the company should stay on the sidelines over such hot-button issues.

“We’re currently planning now to invest over $17 billion in Disney World over the next 10 years,” Iger said, adding that Disney estimates this will lead to 13,000 new jobs within the company and “thousands of indirect jobs” in the state, bringing in more taxes for Florida.

Iger added that any attempts made by DeSantis to “thwart” these efforts is “not just anti-business, but anti-Florida.”

The CEO defended his company’s decision to “exercise” its “right to freedom of speech” when it spoke out against DeSantis’ controversial law.

“As long as I’m in the job, we’ll be guided by a sense of decency and instinct and trust our instinct that when we weigh in, the issue is truly relevant to us and the people we work with,” he said.

One shareholder questioned why Disney had to weigh in at all, and the exec recalled historical times such as the Civil Rights movement and World War II when some corporations avoided speaking out against injustice.

“Those that stood in silence in some ways still carry the stain of indifference,” he added.

At the end of the call, one shareholder accused Disney of being an increasingly “ideological company” serving an LGBTQ+ message and “woke agenda” with its content.

“We’ve recently gotten criticism as you just expressed, for what some perceive to be agenda driven content,” Iger said. “And I’m sensitive to that actually. Our primary mission needs to be to entertain and then, through our entertainment, to continue to have a positive impact on the world and I’m very serious about that. It should not be agenda driven.”

He concluded: “I want parents to be able to trust the content that we’re creating for their children. And we’re committed to delivering age-appropriate content for family audiences, while also telling stories that reflect the world around us and that foster a greater understanding, greater perspective, greater acceptance of all people.”