DeSantis Fights Back Amid Disney Feud

Ron DeSantis is attempting to hit back at the Walt Disney Corporation after the company's latest move in their ongoing feud with the Republican Governor of Florida.

DeSantis's government last year signed a bill that would dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a zone surrounding Walt Disney World outside Orlando that allowed Disney a level of governmental autonomy over the space occupied by the famed theme park. The move was widely seen as a retaliation against Disney speaking out against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Act, which broadly prohibited discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

Reedy Creek is set to be officially dissolved in June, at which point a five-person board appointed by DeSantis was set to take control of the area. However, the situation took a major turn last week when Disney instituted a new contract that will help it retain full developmental authority over Reedy Creek "until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England living as of the date of this declaration." The new stipulation, therefore, lets Disney keep control for decades to come.

In response, DeSantis announced on Monday an order to the Florida Inspector General to investigate the outgoing Reedy Creek board that approved the recent declaration that helped Disney retain control, believing that the state may be able to strike it down on legal grounds.

"These collusive and self-dealing arrangements aim to nullify the recently passed legislation, undercut Florida's legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians," DeSantis wrote in an official letter. "In addition, based on initial observations of counsel, the RCID board's actions appear to suffer from serious legal infirmities. including, among other things, inadequate notice, lack of consideration, improper delegation of authority, and ethical violations, such as conflicts of interest and self-dealing."

As noted on Twitter by journalist Greg Angel, however, the decision by the outgoing board to hand control of Reedy Creek to Disney was made publically and preceded the signing of the dissolution bill last year. According to NPR, the declaration was made 19 days before DeSantis signed the bill and gave Disney the final say over almost every potential alteration to the property, stripping the board of "the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure."

Newsweek reached out to media relations at Disney via email for comment.