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    Disney warns that if DeSantis wins lawsuit, others will be punished for “disfavored” views

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments3199 Views
    Fireworks launch over Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Sept. 30, 2021. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, file)

    By Mike Schneider

    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --

    If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wins a federal lawsuit in which Disney claims its free speech rights were violated by the Republican leader, the company won't be the last entity to be punished over supporting a "disfavored viewpoint," Disney said in court papers on Monday.

    The First Amendment protects the right of free speech even if it goes against government powers, Disney said in court documents asking a judge to reject DeSantis' motion to dismiss the entertainment giant's First Amendment lawsuit in Tallahassee.

    The Disney lawsuit says DeSantis unconstitutionally revamped and took over Walt Disney World's governing district in retaliation after Disney publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. The law was championed by DeSantis, who currently is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

    Before the takeover by DeSantis appointees earlier this year, the district had been controlled by Disney supporters during its five-decades existence running municipal services for Disney World's 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares), performing such functions as road repairs and waste collection.

    "If the line is not drawn here, there is no line at all," Disney said Monday. "The retaliation against Disney for crossing the Governor's 'line' was swift and severe: for the explicitly-stated purpose of punishing Disney for its comments, the State immediately stripped Disney of its voting rights in the governing body that oversees Disney's use of its own private property."

    DeSantis and other defendants, including a state agency and the DeSantis appointees on the board of the revamped district — now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District — say the First Amendment lawsuit is meritless and that they are immune from liability.

    Disney is also battling the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in state court in Orlando.

    Before control of the district changed hands from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney shifting control over design and construction at Disney World to the company and prohibiting the district from using the likeness of Disney characters or other intellectual property without Disney's permission. The new DeSantis appointees claimed the "eleventh-hour deals" neutered their powers, and the district sued the company in state court to have the contracts voided.

    Disney has filed counterclaims which include asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable.

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    Tags:DisneyGov. Ron DeSantis



    William Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage join the voice cast for Starburn Industries’ “Lincoln in the Bardo”

    Friday, August 28, 2026
    Peter Dinklage (photo by Whitney Matewe)

    Actors Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage have joined the voice cast of Starburns Industries’ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” based on acclaimed author George Saunders’ New York Times bestseller and 2017 Booker Prize-winner.  Saunders adapted the screenplay, with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson directing.  It was announced earlier that Tom Hanks stars as the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, in the live action portion of the film.  CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are handling sales at the upcoming TIFF: The Market.

    The film employs a unique blend of stop-motion animation and live action to explore one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased eleven-year-old son.  Blending history and imagination, the story unfolds through an unforgettable ensemble of characters – living and dead, historical and invented – to explore themes of love, empathy, and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief.

    Reverend Everly Thomas – the ghost of a minister who died believing he would go to heaven, but, to his dismay, found out otherwise – is voiced by Dafoe.  Bailey is voicing Roger Bevins, the ghost of a young gay man who took his own life over a failed love affair and instantly regretted it.  Dinklage is voicing Hans Vollman, a ghost obsessed with his dream of being reunited with his much-younger wife.

    Four-time Academy Award nominee Dafoe’s credits include animated films “Finding Nemo,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Boy and the Heron,” as well as “At Eternity’s Gate,” “The Florida Project,” “Shadow of the Vampire” and seminal Vietnam movie... Read More

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