Bob Iger said the Florida actions against Disney World were anti-business

Disney, the Game of Thrones, and the State of Florida: What do we really have to do about it? The Iger and Miguel Question

Iger got follow up questions from shareholders who were questioning the company against Florida legislation. The shareholder inquired if it was wise to take political positions that satisfy a very small portion of people, when our primary mission is entertainment. A shareholder criticized Disney, saying the company has turned from a place of magic for children to an ideological company.

The state of Florida has taken action to strip Disney of some of the powers it had over the land that includes and surrounds Disney World. Florida’s move came after the company objected to legislation passed last year to limit discussions of LGBTQ issues in Florida schools, a bill that opponents referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Iger, asked about the fight at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, made his most public defense to date of the company’s actions, and the most direct criticism of Florida’s actions.

He said any actions that make it harder for the company to retaliate for something sounded anti-florida.

The fight over the don’t say gay bill last year left central Florida with a more than $1 billion liability for bonds, and Florida initially tried to leave the district in place. So earlier this year it passed legislation that instead gave the state the authority to appoint the board members.

Last week the new board disclosed that the land-use powers of the re-named Orange County Tourism Oversight District had been stripped away before the law passed, and given directly to Disney through an agreement with Reedy Creek. That set off a new round of criticism by state officials, including DeSantis, who has been a vocal critic of Disney’s actions.

In a letter to Florida’s Chief Inspector General Melina Miguel, DeSantis accused the Reedy Creek Improvement District board of “collusive and self-dealing arrangements,” and unspecified ethical violations for taking actions that appeared to thwart his efforts to take over the board. Separately, DeSantis’ office said in a statement that “all legislative options are back on the table” as his administration seeks to claw back power and potentially retaliate against Disney.

Iger said they love the state of Florida. “I think that’s reflected in not only how much we’ve invested over the last 50 years, but how much we’ve given back in jobs and community service, taxes, tourism, of course. We appreciate what the state has done for us. It’s been a two-way street.”

Iger said that Disney plans to invest $17 billion in Disney World over the next 10 years, investments he said would create 13,000 new Disney jobs and thousands of other indirect jobs, attracting more people to the state and generating more taxes.

The Donald J. DeSantis Standoff After Two Years: Disney’s Next-to-Leading Executive Director Ann Peri

“While I know we’re never going to please everybody all the time… I want parents to trust the content we are creating for their children, and I also want to create age-appropriate content for family audiences.

For DeSantis, a potential presidential contender in 2024, the standoff burnished his reputation on the right as a shrewd leader who won’t be easily pushed around, not even by one of the state’s largest employers.

But now, in round two, DeSantis, age 44, is going up against longtime Disney boss Bob Iger, a Hollywood power player with decades more experience on the national stage. And Iger, at age 72, isn’t pulling any punches.

Here’s the deal: Iger, who retired in 2020 only to return to the helm nearly three years later when Chapek was forced out (more on that later), doesn’t have much time to mess around. He has a two-year deadline to name a new leader, and he will have to do that while also trying to revive the conglomerate.

In short, Chapek fumbled the ball when he came at DeSantis to criticize Republican legislation that opponents derided as “Don’t Say Gay” because it restricts classroom instruction on issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.

More than 75% of his employees work in Florida, so he spoke out after facing backlash from them. His wishy-washy approach didn’t sit well on either side of the argument.

That effort hit a roadblock, though, after it emerged that the region’s towns and counties would be on the hook for $1 billion of Reedy Creek’s debt obligations.

The legislation that changed the name of Reedy Creek to the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight district” was passed by lawmakers again.

Disney lawyers quietly pushed through changes to the board that stripped power from the DeSantis-appointed board.

Disney-lovers signed their powers to the company so that they wouldn’t have to give up control of the land if the board didn’t like it. It takes roughly 100 years for one of the King’s grandsons to live to age 80.

“This essentially makes Disney the government,” said Ron Peri, a DeSantis pick for the new board, last week. The board loses most of its ability to do anything beyond maintaining the roads and basic infrastructure.

Last week, Iger announced Disney would lay off 7,000 people as part of a $5.5 billion cost-reduction plan. Disney fired Perlmutter, who was a thorn in the side of the company. Victoria Alonso was also fired after it was said she had violated her contract.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/business/nightcap-disney-feud-iger-desantis/index.html

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