Tag Archives: Disney

Disney CEO Suggests Company May Sell ABC Network

CNBC reports: Disney CEO Bob Iger opened the door to selling the company’s linear TV assets as the business struggles during the media industry’s transition to streaming and digital offerings. Iger appeared on CNBC on Thursday, the morning after the company announced it would extend his contract by two years through 2026. Disney is going to be “expansive” in its …

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DeSantis Claims Most Disney Employees Support Him

Florida Politics reports: During a return engagement on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, the Florida Governor contended rank-and-file Disney workers are with him and not “‘woke’ executives,” comments he bases on the 2022 election. “The sad part about it guys is, when we were having this fight with Disney in 2022, most of the employees in their Orlando …

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DeSantis Seeks To Delay Disney Trial Until After Election

Florida Politics reports: Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis are asking a federal judge to wait more than two years to start a trial in the administration’s long-running legal fight with Disney, a time frame that would have them in court after the 2024 presidential election. The lawyers for DeSantis, who is running for president, said that the discovery process in …

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DeSantis Claims Sovereign Immunity From Disney Suit

Click Orlando reports: The Walt Disney Company has no basis for suing Florida’s governor in federal court over actions taken to reform the special district that governed Disney property, according to a new motion filed in the lawsuit between Gov. DeSantis and Disney. Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis and Meredith Ivey, the secretary for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, …

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New Net Favorability Ratings: Disney +31, DeSantis -16

Florida Politics reports: New polling shows Disney’s favorability ratings have remained steady since last year’s controversy over Florida’s parental rights bill, while the Governor’s rating has dropped significantly. The data from left-leaning outlet Navigator shows Disney at a +31 favorability rating, almost identical to the +32 for the company in May 2022. DeSantis, meanwhile, sat at -4 in May 2022, …

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DeSantis Appointee Goes After Disney’s Firefighters

Florida Politics reports: After appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s governing district earlier this year, its firefighters were among the few employees who publicly welcomed them with open arms. But that warm relationship is in jeopardy as a new district administrator has reopened negotiations on a contract that was approved last month by the unionized …

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Federalist Society Leader Named To FL’s Disney Board

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A Tampa lawyer and “Jeopardy!” champion will join Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Disney World oversight board, which is at the center of his nationally watched battle with the world-famous attraction. DeSantis named Charbel Barakat to the five-member Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s Board of Supervisors on Thursday. He will replace Michael Sasso, an Orlando attorney who resigned …

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FL Judge Recuses Himself From DeSantis/Disney Suit

Courthouse News reports: A Florida judge has recused himself from the federal case brought by Disney against Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and a state oversight board. In court documents filed on Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied DeSantis’ motion to disqualify, finding that his prior comments in another state retaliation case does not show he is predisposed to …

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Disney Gay Days Organizers Expect 150,000 Attendees

The Associated Press reports: Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have championed a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ laws — spurring the most prominent gay rights group in the U.S. and other civil rights organizations to issue warnings that the Sunshine State may no longer be safe — Gay Days organizers are still encouraging visitors from around the world to …

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DeSantis Attacks Trump With Video Of Drag Queens

Florida Politics reports: Ron DeSantis’ super PAC is offering a sequel to a previous ad positing that Nikki Haley is too cozy with the Walt Disney Co. This time around Never Back Down is dragging Donald Trump. Literally, as the new digital spot includes female impersonators among its familiar denunciations of a 2024 opponent. The new spot from the super …

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Trump Flips On Disney: DeSantis Let Them Go “Woke”

Mediaite reports: In the past, Trump has slammed DeSantis for letting Disney outmaneuver him in his ongoing battle to punish the company for opposing culture war legislation in the state, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. In mid-May, Trump’s camp blasted the Florida governor for losing jobs in his state as Disney, the state’s largest employer, pulled …

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Disney Oversight Board Member Resigns Days After DeSantis Appointed His Wife To Florida Supreme Court

Florida Politics reports: A Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointee on the Disney World board will have a short tenure. Michael Sasso has resigned after three months on the job. His unexpected departure comes as his wife, Judge Meredith Sasso, was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Florida Supreme Court this week. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board, formerly known as …

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DeSantis Claims He Won’t Attack Disney As President

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis stands behind his war with the The Walt Disney Company, but doesn’t expect he would have to take similar action if elected President. During a Wednesday night interview on Fox News Tonight, the Florida Governor explained to host Trey Gowdy why the issue with Disney’s self-governing status likely wouldn’t recur federally. “Well, if there …

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DeSantis Files Demand For New Judge In Disney Case

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is fighting to get a new judge on the bench for a case stemming from Disney’s federal lawsuit against the Governor. DeSantis filed a motion to disqualify Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, arguing “the Court’s impartiality in this matter might reasonably be questioned.” Walker, whose office declined to comment Friday, has previously ruled …

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DeSantis: “Zero” Chance I’ll Back Down In Disney Fight

The Hill reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Friday there is “zero” chance he will back down from his dispute with Disney, even as some fellow Republicans urge caution. “[Disney] can do whatever they want,” DeSantis said during a stop at a diner in Manchester, N.H. “I know people try to chirp and say this or that, but the …

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DeSantis: Disney Pulled Plug Due To “Financial Straits”

“Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition. Given the company’s financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.” – DeSantis spox Jeremy …

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Disney Pulls Plug On Billion-Dollar Orlando Project

The New York Times reports: In March, Disney called Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida “anti-business” for his scorched-earth attempt to tighten oversight of the company’s theme park resort near Orlando. Last month, when Disney sued the governor and his allies for what it called “a targeted campaign of government retaliation,” the company made clear that $17 billion in planned investment …

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Disney: New Florida Law Nullifies DeSantis’s Lawsuit

The New York Times reports: Florida legislation that was designed to hamstring Disney could end up helping the company, at least in relation to a lawsuit in state court over development at Walt Disney World near Orlando. On Tuesday, Disney filed a motion to dismiss the state court case. As a matter of legal maneuvering, the filing was routine: Disney …

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DeSantis Signs Bill To Harass Disney’s Monorail System

Florida Politics reports: Florida will no longer stand clear of the monorail doors. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation (HB 1305) that will allow state inspections of Walt Disney World’s monorail system. Those provisions were part of a larger transportation bill that also increases debt service for the state’s transportation trust fund and authorizes new projects and partnerships. But the …

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Disney CEO Questions Continued Investments In Florida

Reuters reports: Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger on Wednesday accused Florida politicians of retaliating against the company and questioned the state’s interest in the entertainment conglomerate’s continued investment in Walt Disney World. “We operate responsibly. We pay our fair share of taxes. We employ thousands of people. And by the way, we pay them above the minimum wage, substantially …

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