Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Responds to Comments Made at Iger’s Town Hall Meeting
Earlier this week at Bob Iger’s Town Hall meeting, we learned about Iger’s vision for The Walt Disney Company moving forward. Cast Members, Employees and Disney fans were happy to see Iger back in the driver’s seat at the meeting, with confidence in Iger’s decision making at an all time high.
In addition, we are learning more about political comments made at the meeting. Most notably, the comments that were made in regard to Governor DeSantis, and the most recent feud with Disney World, over the ‘Parents Rights in Education’ bill.
Given the nickname ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, the ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill prohibits certain types of discussion in Elementary classrooms. It states that “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” (flsenate.gov). After remaining silent on the issue, Chapek went on record to state that Disney will help to repeal the bill, drawing a line in the sand with Governor DeSantis. After Iger took back his role as CEO, many were left wondering where Iger stood on the issue.
When the question was asked in Monday’s Town Hall with employees, we got an idea of on where he stands. In response to being asked what his thoughts are, Iger shared that he was “sorry to see us dragged into that battle”. “I have no idea exactly what its ramifications are in terms of the business itself. What I can say is the state of Florida has been important to us for a long time, and we have been very important to the state of Florida”. He expressed that he is still learning what the fallout will be from the Chapek/DeSantis disagreement, mentioning the “dissolution of the Reedy Creek district” that is set for June of 2023. (CNBC)
In response to this, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis went on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ (a clip that was shared on Twitter). He believes that Disney should never have been involved with any of it to begin with, and the backlash is their fault. “We didn’t drag them in Tucker, they went in on their own, and not only opposed the bill, they threatened to get it repealed… they brought this on themselves… I don’t care what a Burbank-based California company says about our laws”.
The statements by Iger and DeSantis can both be seen in the link to Twitter below:
What do you think about the statements by both Iger and DeSantis? Should Disney have a hands off policy regarding politics in Florida? Let us know!
Stay tuned to Streaming the Magic for the latest developments.