Disney Sues DeSantis for Violating Its Free Speech Rights

Disney has sued Ron DeSantis and various Florida state agencies, saying, among other things, that Florida’s retaliation over its statements against an anti LGBTQ+ law have violated the company’s First Amendment rights. Disney said that as a gigantic corporation “it is fortunate to have the resources to take a stand against the State’s retaliation—a stand smaller businesses and individuals might not be able to take when the State comes after them for expressing their own views. In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind.”

“Disney regrets that it has come to this. But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the Company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials,” the company’s lawyers wrote.

Last year, Disney spoke out against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which restricts what teachers can teach in schools (and can hold them criminally liable for teaching students about sexual orientation and gender identity). 

“To ALL who come to this happy place, welcome. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products is committed to creating experiences that support family values for every family, and will not stand for discrimination in any form. We oppose any legislation that infringes on basic human rights, and stand in solidarity and support our LGBTQIA+ Cast, Crew, and Imagineers and fans who make their voices heard today and every day,” the company said last March. 

The Disney-DeSantis war has been raging for months now, with DeSantis trying to dissolve a contract that gives Disney special tax status and wide control over a huge tract of land the company owns in central Florida. 

Last year, DeSantis created a “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District,” in an attempt to more tightly control Disney. That oversight board then declared a contract Disney had over the governance of its land to be null and void.

The bulk of Disney’s lawsuit argues that DeSantis’s retaliation against the company for a statement opposing the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill constitutes a contract violation. 

While much of the 77-page lawsuit and accompanying documents focus on contract law, most interestingly, the mega corporation argues that retaliation by the Florida government is a violation of its First Amendment rights, and that it is standing up for the little guy by suing. 

“It is a clear violation of Disney’s federal constitutional rights—under the Contracts Clause, the Takings Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the First Amendment—for the State to inflict a concerted campaign of retaliation because the Company expressed an opinion with which the government disagreed,” the company wrote. “Disney finds itself in this regrettable position because it expressed a viewpoint the Governor and his allies did not like. Disney wishes that things could have been resolved a different way.”

Disney argued that DeSantis’s public relations campaign and actions against the company have created an “unconstitutional chilling effect” on the company’s speech that “is particularly offensive here due to the clear retaliatory and punitive intent.”