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Politics

Oop! Ron DeSantis's Own Memoir Comes Back To Bite Him In Disney Battle

WIRACHAIPHOTO/Shutterstock

The two have been at war over Disney's opposition to the "Don't Say Gay" bill last year.

Rachel Kiley

Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.

Read Full Bio

Rachel Kiley

rachelkiley

May 02 2023 1:51 PM EST

May 06 2023 4:33 PM EST

The battle between Disney and Ron DeSantis is taking a pretty hilarious turn, as the former uses the governor’s own memoir against him in their recent lawsuit.

Last week, Disney accused DeSantis of launching a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” in response to the company’s belated opposition to his “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year. Within two months of then-CEO Bob Chapek decision to speak out, DeSantis then dissolved a longstanding agreement that gave Disney jurisdiction over the infrastructure needs and responsibilities of the area in which Disney World is located — despite concerns over the burden the change could place on local taxpayers.

DeSantis and Disney have gone back-and-forth in the intermediary months, each trying to strong arm the other into doing what they want. But for every loophole Disney has found, DeSantis has simply had his government void their contracts.

His efforts have been interpreted by just about everyone as political retaliation from the start, and his ego in boasting as much may end up being his downfall. In the lawsuit filed last week, lawyers for Disney cited numerous passages from DeSantis’s recently released memoir that they claim make up an outright admittance of political retaliation — and could amount to a violation of free speech.

\u201cThey quote extensively from Governor DeSantis' own memoir which is extremely damning in terms of revealing intentions with state actions.\u201d
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Alejandra Caraballo) 1682526508

\u201cOne of the most damning of all. Ron DeSantis blatantly hinting that the new Reedy Creek board would try to exert control over content produced by Disney.\u201d
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Alejandra Caraballo) 1682526508

The possibility that the governor’s own desperation to pander to a rightwing base could backfire in such a practical way has become a source of amusement on social media after watching this all play out so transparently for the past year.

\u201cIt's going to be hard for DeSantis to claim that he was misquoted in his own memoir. Or that the quotes are taken out of context given how clearly they lay out that his actions were punishment against Disney speaking out against a bill.\n\nHe's hosed.\u201d
— Brynn Tannehill (@Brynn Tannehill) 1683029996

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\u201cRon de Santis probably regretting titling that chapter in his memoir \u201cHow I Targeted Disney Through A Vindictive Campaign of Government Backed Harassment\u201d now\u201d
— James Palmer (@James Palmer) 1683047075

\u201cDisney lawyers for the last few months reading DeSantis' memoir\u201d
— Lehigh Football Nation (@Lehigh Football Nation) 1683038407

\u201cThe funny thing about this is that there actually is a passage in DeSantis' memoir where he discusses his private talks with Republicans in the state legislature about how they're going to singly target Disney with governmental action.\u201d
— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1683039636

DeSantis’s handpicked Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board has countersued Disney with the claim that the Reedy Creek Board did not take the necessary steps before creating an agreement that the CFTOD has since voted to overturn with DeSantis’s support.

“Since Disney sued us…we have no choice now but to respond,” said chairman Martin Garcia.

Maybe the folks in Florida should consider that continuing to publicly frame all your legal moves as retaliation isn’t always the best play. On the other hand, it does make things far more interesting for the rest of us.