Disney Throws up the White Flag

VIAVAL TOURS / shutterstock.com
VIAVAL TOURS / shutterstock.com

If you haven’t heard, the past couple of years has been a little tough for entertainment giant Disney. In particular, their presence in Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s Florida has been put in jeopardy. But now, after receiving another threat, the company seems willing to fly the white flag of surrender.

You’ll remember that most of the controversy began just over a year ago when DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Act into law.

The law, commonly called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by the political left, prohibits children in kindergarten through third grade from learning about gender identity and sexuality in schools. And related lessons for older students must be age appropriate.

You’d think a company with a history of being children focused would agree with such a bill and DeSantis’ move to approve it.

But seeing as they’ve partnered with the progressive left, that was not the case. Instead, they started with what some would call a war with DeSantis, threatening his leadership.

Of course, they never anticipated DeSantis hitting back as hard.

DeSantis made it clear right off the bat that he, and not Disney, is “running the state of Florida.” As such, he signed another bill that effectively stripped the entertainment giant of their self-governing status.

Then, in February, DeSantis created “a five-member board to oversee the government services that the Disney district provides.”

Basically, it holds the company even more accountable for its actions.

Additionally, such a move would ensure that Disney must abide by the same laws as the rest of the state and that they pay their “fair share in taxes.”

Naturally, Disney isn’t all too happy about those changes, which are still in the process of being fully implemented.

But instead of lashing out or retaliating, which hasn’t worked out for them so far, it seems that newly installed CEO Bob Iger has decided to negotiate or concede power to DeSantis.

In a recent interview with Time, Iger explained that it was time for him to “meet with” DeSantis and “discuss all of this.”

According to him, his goal is to ensure the company is doing well financially and in the state. And that means the politics in which Disney has participated as of late will have to be quieted.

Perhaps it also means some dignity and respect can be returned to the once family-friendly company.