A Texas judge is urging Disney to relocate to the Lone Star State following a heated flap with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other GOP lawmakers in its home base over the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
DeSantis led a successful push to revoke Disney’s special tax status that effectively allowed the company to self-govern its theme park district within the state. The move, which came after Disney publicly opposed the GOP-backed “Don’t Say Gay” law, has prompted speculation that the Mouse House could leave Florida.
In a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George offered to relocate Walt Disney World Resort to Texas – arguing the move would free the company from what he described as “modern day political extremists.” The county is located southwest of Houston, Texas.
“While you, your company, employees, and diverse fans face authoritarian, anti-business, and culture war attacks from extremists in Florida, we in Fort Bend are more than ready to welcome the Disney family with thousands of good paying jobs and billions of dollars of investments,” George said in the letter.
Disney did not immediately return a request for comment on the judge’s offer.
George sent a nearly identical letter to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal – though that offer did not reference Elon Musk’s $43 billion bid to buy the social media platform.
Disney was initially silent as Florida GOP lawmakers pushed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans teachers from discussing LGBTQ topics like sexual orientation or gender identity with students in third grade or below. But the company reversed course and began to publicly criticize the law after facing widespread employee dissent, including walkouts.
Disney’s activist stance drew the ire of DeSantis – a likely 2024 presidential candidate who said the company’s public criticism of the law had “crossed the line.”
DeSantis’ anger culminated in the revocation of Disney’s special status over the Reedy Creek Improvement District – which gave the company near autonomy over the property.
Colorado has also sought to lure Disney away from Florida, with Democratic Gov. Jared Polis offering the company a safe haven in the state.
“Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away,” the Democratic governor tweeted last week. “In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter.”
Meanwhile, Chapek’s botched handling over Disney’s initial response to the legislation sparked internal turmoil at the company – as well as rumors that retired ex-CEO and executive chairman Bob Iger could return to some capacity.
