Global Courant 2023-04-14 13:31:35
Ron DeSantis and Bob IgerChris DuMond/Getty Images; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Disney CEO Bob Iger says there’s one way for Ron DeSantis to settle his feud with Disney: talk about it.
Iger told Time that he would be happy to sit down with DeSantis and work out their differences.
“I don’t look at this as a situation where we go to the mattresses,” Iger told Time.
Disney CEO Bob Iger says Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has one way to end his increasingly bitter feud with Disney: Come to the negotiating table and end it.
“I don’t look at this as a going to the mattresses situation,” Iger shared Timecommentary on the ongoing battle with DeSantis over Disney’s Florida land.
“If the governor of Florida would like to meet with me to discuss all this, of course I would be happy to do so,” Iger said.
He added that he has always been a person “who has generally respected our elected officials and the responsibility they have”. He also said there’s “no reason” why he shouldn’t meet DeSantis.
Iger told Time that as far as he’s concerned, Florida “creates tremendous value” for Disney — and vice versa.
“Our only goal in Florida is to continue to create that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that will allow us to continue to do that,” Iger said.
“We have the resources and we have a desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our turnout, and so that we can actually create more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida,” Iger added. “It’s that simple.”
DeSantis is at odds with Disney over the company’s control of Florida’s special tax district. Ever since Disney backed down from DeSantis in March 2022Say no gay law — which prohibits teachers from teaching children about sexual orientation and gender identity through third grade – DeSantis has been on a warpath.
In February, DeSantis stripped Disney World of its self-governing power in the state, proclaiming that there is “a new sheriff in town”. This was months after he signed a law into law in April 2022 dissolve the Reedy Creek district.
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Then DeSantis moved to install its allies in the special district administration.
But the governor’s power play against Disney failed spectacularly when Disney’s lawyers found a loophole in their agreement with the Florida board. The agreement invokes an obscure property law known as Rule Against Perpetuities, which allows Disney to retain control of the district until the deaths of King Charles III’s last living descendants.
DeSantis has warned that he will continue to go after Disney. Earlier this month, he said yes is considering hitting Disney hotels with taxes and tolls.
Iger, meanwhile, has had few kind words for DeSantis. On April 3Iger said DeSantis’ attempt to strip Disney of its tax status is “anti-business” and “anti-Florida.”
Representatives from DeSantis and Iger’s team at Disney did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment, which were sent outside of regular business hours.
Read the original article Business Insider
