Bob Iger says if Ron DeSantis wants to end his feud with Disney, they could just sit down and ‘discuss all of this’
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Disney CEO Bob Iger says there’s a way for Ron DeSantis to settle his feud with Disney: talk about it.
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Iger told Time he would like to sit down with DeSantis to resolve their disagreements.
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“I don’t see this as a situation where we hit the mattresses,” Iger told Time.
Disney CEO Bob Iger says there’s a way for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to end his increasingly bitter feud with Disney: Come to the negotiating table and deny it.
“I don’t see this as a situation where we hit the mattresses,” Iger said Timecommented on the ongoing dispute with DeSantis over Disney’s Florida land.
“If the governor of Florida would like to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course I’d be happy to do so,” Iger said.
He added that he has always been a person “who has usually respected our elected officials and the responsibilities they have.” He also said there was “no reason” why he wouldn’t meet with DeSantis.
Iger told Time that, as far as he’s concerned, Florida creates “tremendous value” for Disney — and vice versa.
“Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all of these constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that allows us to keep doing that,” Iger said.
“We have the resources and desire to continue investing there to grow this business so we can hire more people, so we can increase our attendance, and so we can basically add more value to The Walt Disney Company and to the state.” Florida,” Iger added. “It’s as simple as that.”
DeSantis is in a dispute with Disney over the company’s control of Florida’s special tax district. Since Disney pushed back against DeSantis in March 2022.Don’t say gay” law — which bans teachers from educating children about sexual orientation and gender identity until third grade — DeSantis was on the warpath.
In February, DeSantis stripped Disney World of its self-governing power in the state, announce that there’s “a new sheriff in town.” This comes months after he signed into law in April 2022 dissolve the Reedy Creek district.
Then DeSantis moved to install his allies on the board of directors of the special district.
But the governor’s power play against Disney failed tremendously if Disney’s lawyers found a loophole in their agreement with the Florida board. The agreement invokes an obscure property law called the Rule Against Perpetuities, which allows Disney to retain power over the District until the death of the last surviving descendant of King Charles III.
DeSantis has warned that he will continue to go after Disney. Earlier this month he said he was Consider imposing taxes and tolls on Disney hotels.
Iger, meanwhile, had few kind words for DeSantis. On the 3rd of AprilIger said DeSantis’ attempt to strip Disney of its tax status was “anti-business” and “anti-Florida.”
Representatives from DeSantis and Iger’s team at Disney did not immediately respond to insider requests for comment aired outside of regular business hours.
Continue reading the original article Business Insider
