Gov. Ron DeSantis dismisses Disney backlash to education bill: 'They were not even engaged' in process
The bill bans classroom instruction on 'sexual orientation' or 'gender identity' in kindergarten through third grade
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., responded to backlash to the Parental Rights in Education bill and misrepresentations of the measure on FOX News Radio's "The Guy Benson Show" Tuesday, taking particular aim at The Walt Disney Company's objections.
The education bill, which DeSantis signed into law Monday, bans teachers from giving "classroom instruction" on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in kindergarten through third grade. Critics have expressed outrage over the bill, suggesting it is anti-LGBTQ and bans the word "gay" in schools.
Such language does not appear in the legislation, nor does it ban casual discussions of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom - a point of contention on which DeSantis recently sparred with reporters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LAKELAND, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - 2021/05/28: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at LifeScience Logistics to urge the Biden administration to approve Florida's plan to import prescription drugs from Canada, thereby saving Floridians an estimated $100 million annually on drug costs. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
FLORIDA'S DESANTIS SIGNS PARENTAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION BILL, HITS BACK AT HOLLYWOOD CRITICS
DeSantis has defended the bill in response to several high profile critics as well.
Earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Chapek denounced the measure as anti-LGBTQ, saying he did not immediately take a public position because he was working "behind the scenes" to express the company's complaints to the governor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I called Gov. DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if the legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary, and transgender kids and families," he said.
The company put out another statement on Monday following passage of the bill.
"Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law," the statement read, in part. "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yet, in his conversation with radio host Guy Benson on Tuesday, DeSantis said Disney was "not even engaged" in the critical processes leading up to the passage of the bill.
ORLANDO, FL - MAY 08: Bob Chapek of Disney talks during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports on May 8, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus) (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus)
"So, here is I think why this statement was totally outrageous," DeSantis told Benson. "For two reasons. One, they said it should have never been passed in the first place. I talked to our Speaker of the House after that statement came out; he said they never contacted him while they were working -- while it was moving through the House of Representatives in Florida. They didn't say anything about it.
"I mean, they could have called them and said that they had problems with it," he continued. "They didn't do it. And, so, to say it should have never been law in the first place -- they were not even engaged at those critical processes. They're responding to, I would say, left-wing activists…rather than the actual substance of it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DeSantis said his second issue with the statement was how it sounded as though Disney was "going to work to repeal substantive rights of parents."
"I think they overstepped their bounds with that statement," the governor said. "They do not run this state. I'm not going to let our state be hijacked by a bunch of California corporate executives. And the fact of the matter is, I think they think that whatever they want in Florida they get. That may have been true in the past, that is not true now. We're going to govern this state based on the best interests of the people of Florida, not what any corporation, but particularly that corporation, is demanding."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hollywood, too, has taken aim at the education bill. In their opening monologue at Sunday's Oscars, co-hosts Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall targeted the entire state of Florida.
"We're going to have a great night tonight," Sykes said. "And for you people in Florida, we're going to have a gay night." The women then started chanting the word "gay."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes begin the show at the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
"If the people who held up degenerates like Harvey Weinstein as exemplars and as heroes and as all that, if those are the types of people that are opposing us on parents’ rights, I wear that like a badge of honor," DeSantis said in response to his Hollywood critics at the Oscars.
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Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.