- Disney CEO Bob Iger says there's a way for Ron DeSantis to settle his feud with Disney: Talk it out.
- Iger told Time he'd be happy to sit down with the Florida governor to hash out their disagreements.
Disney CEO Bob Iger says there's one way for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to end his increasingly acrimonious feud with Disney: Come to the negotiating table and hash it out.
"I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us," Iger told Time, commenting on the ongoing tussle with DeSantis over Disney's land in Florida.
"If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that," Iger said.
He added that he has always been a person "that typically has respected our elected officials and the responsibility that they have." He also said there is "no reason" why he wouldn't meet with DeSantis.
Iger told Time that where he's concerned, Florida "creates huge value" for Disney — and vice versa.
"Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that," Iger said.
"We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida," Iger added. "It's that simple."
DeSantis is at odds with Disney over the company's control of the special tax district in Florida. Since Disney in March 2022 pushed back against DeSantis' "Don't Say Gay" law — which bans teachers from educating children about sexual orientation and gender identity through to the third grade — DeSantis has been on the warpath.
In February, DeSantis stripped Disney World of its self-governing power in the state and proclaimed there was "a new sheriff in town." This was months after he signed a bill into law in April 2022 to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
DeSantis then moved to install his allies on the board governing the special district.
But the governor's power play against Disney failed spectacularly when Disney's lawyers found a loophole in their agreement with the Florida board. The agreement invokes an obscure property law known as the "Rule Against Perpetuities", which allows Disney to maintain power over the district until the death of the last living descendant of King Charles III.
DeSantis has said that he'll continue to go after Disney. Earlier this month, he said he's considering slapping Disney hotels with taxes and road tolls.
Iger, meanwhile, has had few kind words for DeSantis. On April 3, Iger said DeSantis' attempt to strip Disney of its special tax status was "anti-business" and "anti-Florida."
Representatives for DeSantis and Iger's team at Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.