With the bill gaining momentum, Disney, which is headquartered in Burbank, California, but has 38 registered lobbyists in Florida, worked behind the scenes with state lawmakers to try to soften the legislation. It passed both Republican-controlled chambers largely unchanged.
Chapek told shareholders March 9 that he had called DeSantis after the bill passed the state Senate to convey the company’s “disappointment and concern.” DeSantis’ office said his support for the legislation hadn’t wavered. He then went public with his criticism of Disney.
“When you have companies that have made a fortune off being family-friendly and catering to families and young kids, they should understand that parents of young kids do not want this injected into their kids’ kindergarten classroom,” DeSantis told supporters in the video reported by Fox. This time, he didn’t mention that there are few examples of this occurring in Florida.
As a Republican legislative aide told CNN, “It’s like Ron Burgundy said: That escalated quickly.”
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