Desperate Disney now trying to 'limit damage' from its woke LGBT activism

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Disney officials launched into a full-scale war against the state of Florida in support of their LGBT agenda back when lawmakers adopted a limit on the sexual indoctrination allowed in public schools there.

Now it's paying the price.

It's likely, according to reports, that the corporation will lose control of the special district that the state allowed some six decades ago when the theme park was launched that has allowed the company to run its own property just as it wishes.

According to a report in Variety, state officials already have met with the leaders of Disney's self-governing district.

That's after Gov. Ron DeSantis asked the legislature to abolish the district that gave Disney total control over roads, bridges, fire department services, power plants and more.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., featured in a rock music video titled 'Sweet Florida' (Video screenshot)

The legislature promptly agreed, in punishment for Disney's radical agenda that included opposition to the state's law that restricts what public school teachers can say if they are trying to indoctrinate children in the LGBT lifestyle choices.

Will you ever patronize Disney again due to its pro-LGBT activism?

Critics of the law called it the "Don't Say Gay" law although that name had no relation to the actual specifics of the legislation.

Disney's Reed Creek Improvement District includes 65 miles of canals, roads, bridges, a fire department, a 54-megawatt power plant and more.

With the district's dissolution, those assets would be acquired by local governments, and the costs Disney invests in those programs every year could be turned into taxes to benefit those governments.

But the report explained now a plan has been developed that would "re-create" the district, and allow it to continue operations, but with a key difference.

The state would appoint members of the district's governing board, to join Disney's team members already there.

The Variety report said, "Disney has clearly been weakened by the fight while DeSantis' profile as a conservative culture warrior has only grown."

Further, while DeSantis' has continued his campaigns on protecting families, Disney "has stayed silent."

It was after Florida's law was adopted that the company's former CEO, Bob Iger, stated his opposition. Then current CEO Bob Chapek opposed it.

"The conservative backlash intensified later that month. Journalist Christopher Rufo – who had made a name for himself by exposing anti-racist employee trainings – released leaked videos in which Disney employees spoke about 'adding queerness' to content and having a 'not-so-secret gay agenda,'" the report said.

DeSantis, at one point, said, "If you’re going to commit yourself to wanting gender ideology in elementary school, we’re not going to hold you up on a pedestal any longer. Disney is no longer going to have its own government. They’re going to live under the same laws as everybody else. And they are going to pay their fair share of taxes in the state of Florida."

Variety said the board and district replacement scheme emerged in public records it obtained.

It could be "anything from a minor annoyance to a major headache" for Disney, the report said.

Susan Bowdey, at the Washington Stand, explained, "While CEO Bob Chapek brags that he 'stood firm' during the showdown over the state’s parental rights law, local officials say that privately, Disney is eating plenty of humble pie."

She continued, "Walt’s empire, after all, didn’t just suffer humiliation at the hands of Governor Ron DeSantis (R) — but also the loss of its prized possession, the Reedy Creek Improvement District. In April, as punishment for demagoguing the popular bill, Republicans took a pound of flesh, pulling the plug on a sweetheart deal that’s allowed Disney to run its 38-square mile compound with absolute autonomy. Now, for the first time in a half-century, the company stands to lose its cherished exemptions on everything from zoning laws to corporate taxes."

She noted the state's plan will have its people sitting "alongside Disney’s representatives on the district’s governing board."

She noted "the company has little choice," explaining, "Even Disney’s allies sense the shift, pointing out that the company has been unusually silent on state politics lately. Mike Kahane, who organized a protest at Disney World in March, agreed the company had 'gone quiet.' 'I would speculate it has something to do with them trying to work out this bigger issue, which could have huge economic consequences to them.'"

WND previously reported a federal court judge tossed out a legal challenge to the decision by Florida lawmakers to cancel a special tax district that was set up to provide Disney with special privileges, ruling the dispute involves state law.

The Washington Examiner reported the lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had demanded a halt to the legislative plans to dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District that essentially gives Disney total control of its own property.

If the cancellation is fully implemented, the company will be subject to county zoning and regulatory agencies, such as building codes, and highway requirements, and instead of paying for those improvements through its own district, likely would be obligated to pay taxes for those services from the two counties in which its properties lie.

The problem Disney created for itself by insisting that the new state law be reversed also has reached Congress.

There, Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley planned legislation stripping Disney of its special copyright privileges.

Hawley’s “Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2022” would limit the length of copyrights Congress gives corporations to 56 years and would apply retroactively, according to Fox News.

No more handouts for woke corporations. Today I’m introducing legislation to strip ⁦@Disney of its⁩ special copyright protectionshttps://t.co/pushCxnjoO

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 10, 2022

“No more handouts for woke corporations. Today I’m introducing legislation to strip @Disney of its special copyright protections,” Hawley tweeted.

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