A Walt Disney Company employee is warning that the company’s “leftward lurch” may ultimately cost its bottom line and could be something it “will soon regret.”
Jose Castillo, who is running for U.S. House of Representatives in Florida and has spoken out about the company’s recent political activism, spoke to Fox News Digital about what could be the unintended consequences of Disney’s decision to be more “woke,” especially in light of the uproar over the state’s parental rights law H.B. 1557.
Disney’s left-wing activism and its belligerent stand against the Sunshine State’s Gov. Ron DeSantis over the passage of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law may backfire in a way that the company will feel in its pocketbook and elsewhere. Florida legislators are now discussing whether to repeal a 1967 act that effectively allows Disney to self-govern in its central Florida location.
“I think that if Disney is going to continue this leftward lurch, and the legislature votes to give Disney the left-leaning policies that they’ve asked for, then they’ll be subject to the tyrannical rule of the mayor of Orange County, which they will soon regret,” Castillo said to Fox News Digital. “If Disney falls under Orange County regulations and taxes, I suspect they’ll think twice before pushing for more of them.”
As a “free-market capitalist,” the Republican congressional candidate explained he opposes “the government giving special advantages to certain companies and individuals. It’s not the government’s job to pick winners and losers,” though he did not specify his stand on the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.
“It is also probably in part because of these privileges and the considerable sway that Disney has in Florida that creates the impetus for them to weigh in on issues such as the Parental Rights in Education Bill,” he said.
“It bothers me when I read public statements saying things like ‘we’ believe the bill shouldn’t have been passed,” Castillo added. “I’ve been with Disney for 13 years and am proud of my role in the company. When the company uses words like ‘we’ it should mean all of the Cast Members, and right now, that’s not the case.”
In a separate interview, Castillo had revealed that a “silent majority” of Disney employees actually do support the law which does not even ban the word “gay” in school settings.
‘Silent majority’ of Disney workers support Florida law, current employee says https://t.co/vHsyqyXhP8
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) March 31, 2022
Florida House member Spencer Roach tweeted about the meetings that have already taken place among Florida lawmakers to discuss the possibility of repealing the 55-year-old state law that allows Disney to self-govern on the grounds of Walt Disney World.
“If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County,” Roach said.
Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County. pic.twitter.com/6sj29Gj6Wz
— SpencerRoach (@SpencerRoachFL) March 30, 2022
During a press conference Thursday, the governor also made mention of the possibility, noting the “special privileges” status granted by certain laws.
“What I would say as a matter of first principle is I don’t support special privileges in law just because a company is powerful and they’ve been able to wield a lot of power,” DeSantis said at a press conference held in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to Fox News.
“I think what has happened is there’s a lot of these special privileges that are not justifiable, but because Disney had held so much sway, they were able to sustain a lot of special treatment over the years,” the GOP lawmaker continued.
“I would say any special privileges that are in law I would like to get rid of generally,” DeSantis added. “I think in this particular case with Disney, I just don’t think you have very many people in the legislature anymore who are going to be able to defend a lot of what has been done over many years to really have them almost govern themselves in some of these things. That was probably never appropriate to start, but is certainly not appropriate now at this point.”
Many Twitter users agreed that Disney will be reaping the rewards of its latest decisions.
Disney has made it clear they are not merely an entertainment company. They’ve exposed themselves as a leftwing political organization that seeks to implement its political agenda. Political organizations don’t deserve special government treatment.
— MikeSTL (@MikeSTL5) March 31, 2022
— It’s all a Distraction (@it_distraction) March 31, 2022
The @WaltDisneyCo is entitled to their unpopular opinions on public policy but they aren’t entitled to special privileges from the state. This is the stupid game they chose to play. Enjoy the stupid prizes.
— Ramen Numerals (@RamenNumerals05) March 31, 2022
Disney has done it now. pic.twitter.com/I8SIOZtusy
— Savannah Freedom Girl (@BasedSavannah) March 31, 2022
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