Menu

Disney’s Bob Iger Threatens Florida

Iger and Desantis

The battle between the Walt Disney Company (and its CEO, Bob Iger) versus Governor Ron DeSantis continued during the Q2 earnings call.

bob-iger ceo disney

Credit: Disney

RELATED: New Bill Makes Way for DeSantis 2024

Previous Comments

“It seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us,” Iger had previously said during the Walt Disney Company’s annual shareholders meeting on April 3. He also referred to DeSantis attempting “to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right.”

During the recent earnings call on May 10, Disney CEO Bob Iger again spoke out against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stating that the company is being punished for free speech.

RELATED: DeSantis Board Suing Disney

Bob Iger’s Recent Comments

“Regarding Florida, I got a few things I want to say about that bill,” CEO Bob Iger said. “First of all, the case that we filed last month made our position and the facts very clear. This is about one thing and one thing only, and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position we are merely exercising our right to free speech.”

Bob Iger continued during the call.

bob-iger-marvel-studios

Credit: Disney

“I noted that our plans are to invest 17 billion over the next ten years, which is what the state should want us to do. We operate responsibly. We pay our fair share of taxes. We employ thousands of people and, by the way, we pay them substantially above the minimum wage dictated by the state of Florida. We also provide them with great benefits and free education. So I’m going to finish what is obviously kind of a long answer by asking one question: Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?”

RELATED: The Mouse Heads to Court: Disney is SUING DeSantis

Some have considered the last line a threat by CEO Bob Iger (and the Walt Disney Company) to pull investments from the state and avoid paying taxes. It remains unlikely that such a large corporation with a significant footprint in the state would consider such extreme actions. However, a year or two ago, people would have thought that the Governor of Florida and the CEO of Disney being at war over special districts, lawsuits, and legislation would have been unlikely, too.

Cinderella Castle in the MAgic kingdom

Credit: Disney

RELATED: Disney World Monorail Targeted by DeSantis

It was also noted that the Disney theme parks have proven to be one of the more successful money makers in the past quarter over revenue generated from Disney+ or in movie theaters.

About Steven Wilk

Steven has a complicated relationship with Disney. As a child, he visited Walt Disney World every few years with his family. But he never understood why kids his age (and older) were so scared of Snow White or Alien Encounter. He is a former participant of the Disney College Program (left early…long story), and he also previously worked in Children’s publishing, where he adapted multiple Disney movies and TV shows. He has many controversial opinions about Disney…like having a positive view of Michael Eisner, believing Return of the Jedi is superior to The Empire Strikes Back, and that Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge should have never been built (at least not at Hollywood Studios). Every year for the past two decades, Steven has visited either Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani or went on a Disney Cruise. He’s happy to share any and all knowledge of the Disney destinations (and he likes using parenthesis a lot…as well as ellipses…)