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(Video Credit: Fox News)

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) declared on Friday that he views Disney’s woke ideology as a threat to his state and is threatening to strip Disney of its special self-governing status following its opposition to the recently signed “Parental Rights in Education” law.

Those privileges include building anything the company wants to in its theme parks. They have wide leeway to pretty much do as they please in Florida but the state legislature may be getting ready to change all that by repealing the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act.

“They have gotten incredible treatment from the Florida legislature and are treated on a pedestal, this one corporation is treated differently than anybody else,” DeSantis noted. “That is not something I’ve ever supported. In the legislature, you see a move to reevaluate the special privileges.”

“There is policy dispute and that is fine, but when you try to impose a woke ideology on the state, that is a significant threat,” DeSantis commented on “Fox & Friends” Friday. “This wokeness will destroy this country if we let it run unabated. We take a stand against that.”

“At the end of the day, I don’t believe in special treatment for any corporation,” the governor proclaimed.

Two meetings were held this week to discuss revoking Disney’s special status that “allows Disney to act as its own government,” according to Florida House Rep. Spencer Roach.

“If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County,” he tweeted.

Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County. pic.twitter.com/6sj29Gj6Wz

— SpencerRoach (@SpencerRoachFL) March 30, 2022

The district is overseen by its 19 landowners with Disney World being the largest one. It oversees land use and provides public services, including fire protection, emergency medical services, water services, electricity, policing, and sanitation. The district is also responsible for maintaining and operating all public roads and bridges. According to DeSantis, Disney could even build its own nuclear power plant if it chose to do so.

He also pointed out that competitors have complained for years about Disney’s special treatment.

“Treating every business the same is what you should do,” he asserted. “Going to a more even-handed approach is probably better policy anyway. They have been able to get their way for many decades.”

All of this is occurring after Disney’s leadership came out against DeSantis’ “Parental Rights in Education” bill, inaccurately labeling it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The governor signed it into law on Monday which provoked protests by leftists and LGBTQ activists.

The law prohibits teaching sexual orientation and gender identity to young children in kindergarten through the third grade. Activists disingenuously claim the law is intended to marginalize gays, transgenders, and their families.

Disney is one of Florida’s largest employers. It is also a major political donor and has now suspended donations until the issue is resolved to its liking.

Following the bill being signed into law, Disney issued a statement, saying, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”

Statement from The Walt Disney Company on signing of Florida legislation: pic.twitter.com/UVI7Ko3aKS

— Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) March 28, 2022

“You’ve got to wonder why is the hill to die on to have transgenderism injected into kindergarten classrooms, or woke gender ideology injected into second-grade classrooms. Why is that the hill to die on?” DeSantis asked in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this week.

“Meanwhile, if we’ve done a bill that prohibited talking about the abuse of Uyghurs in China, Disney would’ve supported that legislation. They won’t say a word about that,” he charged.

(Video Credit: Fox News )

DeSantis went on to point out that Disney Cruises goes to the Dominican Republic, which bans gay marriage and has legalized discrimination against gay people.

“So they’re fine doing that and lining their pockets, they’re fine lining their pockets from the CCP, and all the atrocities going on there,” he added. “But it’s those kindergarteners in Florida that they really want to have transgenderism as part of their core curriculum in school.”

Conservative employees at Disney are now speaking out against the company’s woke policies as well and they are calling for a boycott.

A manager at a Disney resort named Jose Castillo, who is also running for Congress in Florida, claimed Disney’s decision to oppose the law could be “bad for business” as not everyone is a “raging liberal” who works there.

“I think that if Disney is going to continue this leftward lurch, and the legislature votes to give Disney the left-leaning policies that they’ve asked for, then they’ll be subject to the tyrannical rule of the mayor of Orange County, which they will soon regret,” Castillo told Fox News Digital. “If Disney falls under Orange County regulations and taxes, I suspect they’ll think twice before pushing for more of them.”

“Conservative Disney cast members are afraid to speak out because of the company’s very public stance opposing the Parental Rights in Education bill,” he commented. “I think that’s a grave miscalculation on Disney’s part because the vocal minority doesn’t speak for the majority of cast members or the majority of Florida parents who don’t want their young children to be taught about sexuality by public school teachers.”

(Video Credit: Fox News | Tucker Carlson)

Castillo told Fox News that many employees were in favor of the bill and the company’s pushback against its own workers was killing democracy.

Another employee, who is using the pseudonym Ethan L. Clay, says that the company’s leadership has “surrendered” to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology and has fostered a culture that forces employees who support the law to remain quiet because they fear being fired.

“I encourage everyone to ignore the bloviating of Disney executive leadership, from CEO Bob Chapek all the way down to park VPs,” Clay urged in a blog post published on Quillette.com Tuesday. “These people are not thought-leaders or cultural revolutionaries. They are cowards held hostage by the prevailing narrative, and they will run in whichever direction that narrative dictates.”

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Staff Writer at BizPac Review

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is a Constitutional Conservative who researches and writes extensively on politics and current events.

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