DeSantis claims the former Disney CEO complained to him about the “pressure” to protest the education bill

Ron DeSantis claimed that former Disney CEO Bob Chapek complained to him about the “pressure” he was under from the left to get into the governor’s new education bill that bans teaching kids young children in Florida on gender identity.

The Florida governor said Chapek contacted him in early 2022 about the state’s education law and the then-Disney chief said he had been pressured to “oppose” the bill.

DeSantis revealed details of the conversation in a chapter of his new memoir, ‘The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for American Revival,’ which he shared with Fox Digital News.

“As the controversy over the parental rights in education bill came to a head, Chapek called me, not wanting Disney to get involved, but was getting a lot of pressure to speak out against the bill.” DeSantis writes.

“We get pressured all the time,” Chapek told DeSantis, according to the governor’s book. ‘But this time is different. I haven’t seen anything like this before.

On March 9 of last year, the former Disney CEO approached the Florida governor to persuade him not to sign the education bill, incorrectly dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill by its critics. Known formally as the ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill, it states that ‘instruction in the classroom by school personnel or third parties about sexual orientation or gender identity cannot occur from the kindergarten from infants to [third grade]’.

Chapek ultimately expressed “concern” that if the legislation passed, it “could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary and transgender children and families.”. He told Disney shareholders in March of last year that Disney bosses “opposed the bill from the beginning.”

Chapek also claimed that DeSantis was “very open” to hearing concerns during their “extraordinary” conversation.

In his account of the exchanges, DeSantis claims in his book that Chapek and Disney “ultimately caved in to pressure from left-wing media and activists and pushed the false narrative against the bill.”

DeSantis tried to assuage Chapek’s fears of backlash by stating that Disney should have expected a two-day outrage once the bill passed if they decided to stay out of Florida politics, before the dust settled. settled on the matter.

Disney’s senior leaders were frustrated with the way Chapek, who was fired as Disney’s chief executive in November 2022, handled the education bill.

The former CEO met with senior leadership groups and expressed his dissatisfaction with their reluctance to strongly oppose the bill.

Chapek apologized to his colleagues for not taking a stronger position in a statement on Disney’s website. He said: ‘It is clear that this is not just an issue about a Florida bill, but another challenge to basic human rights. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I’m sorry’.

As part of the legislation, public school teachers cannot “encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity at the elementary levels.”

The bill passed the Republican-controlled Florida House of Representatives on February 24 and the state Senate on March 8; it will go into effect on July 1, and all school district plans must be updated by June 2023.

It was reported that Disney had been pushing ideals that were criticized by conservatives, such as imposing messages of gender and sexuality in movies and television shows.

In the revealed chapter, DeSantis wrote that while Disney had a right to engage in fair activism, Florida had no place to idolize the company by doing so.

He argued that this was especially true “when the company’s activism impacted parental rights and children’s welfare.”

Additionally, the governor of Florida wrote how he was shocked to discover left-wing voices siding with such a giant corporation.

In the coming weeks, Florida lawmakers will meet next week to decide whether Disney World’s self-governing power should be replaced by a state board under sweeping plans backed by DeSantis.

The session will focus on whether to reverse the earlier decision to dissolve the district and Disney’s special governance privileges, which it has held for 55 years.

Since 1967, Disney has been responsible for the government of an area known as Reedy Creek. Critics of the company say the deal gives the firm special legal and tax privileges.

DeSantis launched the effort to change Disney’s self-governing powers after Chapek condemned Florida’s educational rights bill.

The excerpts from his book came as DeSantis gave an interview to Fox News in which he said “woke ideology” is taking over public and corporate institutions across the United States.

“If you stand up for the right things, you’re going to have to show courage under fire,” the governor said.

Last week, DeSantis kicked off his “Law & Order” tour amid speculation that he is getting closer to announcing a 2024 run for president.

The visit coincided with the President’s Day holiday and as former President Donald Trump continues to launch attacks on DeSantis, who is quickly emerging as the most likely to defeat the former president in a primary.

However, DeSantis has currently remained relatively quiet on the presidential ambitions front, saying at a press conference this month “wouldn’t you like to know?” when a reporter asked him if he would run now that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced his candidacy.

As of now, both Trump and his former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, are the only two major Republicans to launch an official run for the White House in 2024.

But at least a few dozen others are considering or are rumored to be considering a run, including former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.