A municipal board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday hit back at Disney just days after the theme park giant sued over claims the state punished it for so-called “woke” political stands.
Central Florida Tourism Oversight District chair Martin Garcia said the group would countersue Disney but he didn’t give any details of the suit.
“Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond,” Garcia said.
“Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond,” Garcia said.
The board will file its suit in state court in central Florida, while Disney filed in federal court in Tallahassee.
The Mickey Mouse company claimed last week in a federal lawsuit that DeSantis “orchestrated at every step” a campaign to punish Disney for its LGBTQ-friendly policies.
It says the Republican presidential contender started trashing Disney only after it publicly opposed the governor’s signature “Don’t Say Gay” law that restricts public school discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
DeSantis appointed a new board to run a quasi-municipality encompassing Disney parks, and threatened to build a new prison next to the child-friendly entertainment Mecca and sic state inspectors on Disney’s famed rides and monorails.
The legal gamesmanship continues to heat up even as DeSantis takes political flak over the squabble with the Sunshine State’s largest private employer.
Former President Donald Trump and other Republican presidential rivals have repeatedly slammed DeSantis over the feud, accusing him of displaying poor management skills and abandoning traditional pro-business tenets.
DeSantis, who just returned from a weeklong around-the-world trip designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, is considering launching his presidential campaign later this spring.
His poll numbers have tumbled but he remains Trump’s strongest potential GOP rival.