In this round of the Walt Disney Company versus Ron DeSantis, the Mouse House has taken sharper aim at the Florida governor, streamlining its case to focus on allegations revolving around the First Amendment.
As things seem to be easing into a more defined fight, the Hollywood Reporter detailed that Disney is now opting to drop a number of the claims in its lawsuit by focusing on the state’s violation of the company’s First Amendment rights. It is forgoing the Contracts Clause, Takings Clause, and Due Process Clause violations (see the filing here as shared by THR). Recently DeSantis said that the state has “basically moved on” after getting his feathers ruffled to the point of political party embarrassment, in a conflict that goes back to Disney standing against his “Don’t Say Gay” legislation to deny human rights to LGBTQIA+ people in Florida, and the governor’s subsequent attempts to rescind special development rights Disney has long retained over its Florida theme-park properties.
Last year, DeSantis quickly moved to strip Disney of its state privileges, but pundits in his own party called him out for setting a precedent that could be turned around on conservative businesses by governors in Democratic states. As his battle with Disney drags on, the Republican presidential hopeful is looking less favorable even next to that former president with a mugshot.
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