Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signaled Monday that he wants to end his longtime feud with Disney (DIS).
"We've basically moved on. They’re suing the state of Florida. They're going to lose that lawsuit," DeSantis said in an interview with CNBC.
"So what I would say is, drop the lawsuit," DeSantis added. "Let's move forward. I'm totally fine with that, but I'm not fine with giving extraordinary privileges to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else."
The ongoing political firestorm, which has seen multiple lawsuits and countersuits from both sides, stems from what has largely been seen as a politically targeted response over Disney's reaction to the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.
In 2022, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemned the law at the company's annual shareholder meeting after initially deciding not to speak publicly on the matter.
In response, DeSantis signed a bill into law that allows him to take control of the company's long-standing special tax district, formerly known as Reedy Creek.
Most recently, Florida's attorney general filed a motion to dismiss an April lawsuit from the entertainment giant, arguing immunity for DeSantis.
Disney had alleged in federal court that DeSantis and other officials launched a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" for its stance on the parental rights bill when the state stripped the company of the self-governing power it held for 55 years.
During Monday's interview, DeSantis stressed the benefits of Florida's economy, which remained mostly open throughout the pandemic.
"No one has made Disney more money recently than me because during COVID they were open in Florida," he argued. "[Disney] was locked shut in California, and we said we want you guys to operate because we understand how important it was that their cast members in central Florida had the ability to make ends meet."
"This is a great place to do business," DeSantis emphasized. "Your competitors all do very well here, Universal, SeaWorld. They have not had the same special privileges as you have. All we want to do is treat everybody the same."
'Softer' attendance at Walt Disney World
Last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the parks business was booming despite the DeSantis battle.
"We see no sign of [DeSantis impacting attendance] at all," Iger said in a separate interview with CNBC.
Still, the executive did admit during the company's earnings call last week that performance at its flagship Walt Disney World park has been "softer" as the company battles a tourism slowdown in Florida, a strong US dollar, and a decline in post-pandemic pent-up demand.
"We saw softer performance at Walt Disney World from the prior year, coming off our highly successful 50th-anniversary celebration," Iger said. "As post-COVID pent-up demand continues to level off in Florida, local tax data shows evidence of some softening in several major Florida tourism markets."
Still, revenue in Disney's Parks, Experiences, and Products segment surpassed expectations in the most recent quarter, reaching $8.33 billion versus the expected $8.25 billion.
Operating income for the division came in at $2.43 billion, ahead of estimates of $2.39 billion and above the $2.19 billion earned in the same quarter last year.
"Walt Disney World is still performing well above pre-COVID levels, 21% higher in revenue and 29% higher in operating income compared to fiscal 2019, adjusting for Star Cruiser accelerated depreciation," Iger said.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at [email protected].
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