Disney Scraps $867m Florida Plan amid Ron DeSantis Feud – BBC News

May 18, 2023 | The Walt Disney Company has scrapped a plan to invest nearly (£806m) to build a new corporate campus in Florida, it announced. The company made the decision amid an escalating legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney and Florida have both sued each other in recent weeks.

Disney World zwischen Biederkeit und LGBTQ-Party

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Das berühmte Freizeitresort Disney World in Florida ist unter Beschuss der Republikaner geraten, die ihm vorwerfen, zu «woke» zu sein. Der Vergnügungspark ist künstlich, oberflächlich, klischeehaft, aber weder übermässig korrekt noch allzu brüskierend. Höchstens die permanente Fröhlichkeit kann einen deprimieren.

Angestellte des Disney-Konzerns demonstrieren gegen das «Don't say gay»-Gesetz in Florida. | Irfan Khan / Getty
Disney World in Florida hat ein Problem. Der Vergnügungspark bei Orlando, der sein fünfzigjähriges Bestehen feiert, wird von zwei Seiten angegriffen und ist mitten in den amerikanischen Kulturkampf hineingeraten. Seitens der politischen Linken wird behauptet, dass dort, wie auch in den Disney-Filmen, ein nicht mehr zeitgemässes Familien- und Menschenbild transportiert werde.

Kürzlich wagte der Konzern es jedoch, die neuen, konservativen Gesetze in Florida zu kritisieren, die sich gegen Homosexuelle und andere sexuelle Minderheiten richten. Das führte zu einer heftigen Gegenreaktion des republikanischen Gouverneurs Ron DeSantis, der Disney vorwarf, Kinder und Familien mit «woken» Ideen zu infiltrieren. Er drohte, dem riesigen Unterhaltungsparadies die bisherigen Steuerprivilegien zu entziehen.

Disney pflegte das gute alte Amerika

Machen wir also die Probe aufs Exempel. Ist Disney World nun altbacken, hinterwäldlerisch und voller rückständiger Klischees? Oder ist es «woke», übertrieben politisch korrekt, von subversiven Ideen unterwandert, die schon die Kleinen sexualisieren, politisieren und indoktrinieren? » | David Signer, Orlando | Donnerstag, 30. Juni 2022

Disney Heir Comes Out Publicly as Transgender, Condemns Anti-LGBTQ Bills

Charlee Corra speaks at a Human Rights Campaign dinner on March 12 in Los Angeles. Randy Shropshire / Getty Images
NBC NEWS: Charlee Corra, a high school science teacher, regrets not having done more to advocate against Florida’s bill limiting LGBTQ classroom discussion.

Charlee Corra, a member of the Disney family, came out publicly as transgender and condemned anti-LGBTQ bills in a recent interview.

Corra, who uses "he" and "they" pronouns, announced that their family would match up to $250,000 in donations to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ advocacy group, during the organization's annual gala in Los Angeles last month.

Roy P. Disney, Corra's stepfather and the grandson of Roy O. Disney, a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, upped that amount to $500,000 last week.

“Equality matters deeply to us,” Disney said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times, “especially because our child, Charlee, is transgender and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Disney also said the family was "heartbroken" when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay or Trans" bill because it prohibits classroom instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity with students in grades K-3 or in a way deemed developmentally or age inappropriate.

Corra, a high school biology and environmental science teacher, told the L.A. Times that the HRC gala was sort of a public coming out for them, since they had come out privately as trans four years ago. » | Jo Yurcaba | Monday, April 11, 2022

Beauty and the Beast | US Official Trailers

Watch the brand new trailer for Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," starring Emma Watson & Dan Stevens.

Disney Joins Fight Against Obesity
Obesity is a big concern among US children, with nearly one-third of them either overweight or obese. Junk food marketing is a contributory factor to such problems, according to the Washington-based Institute of Medicine. Now, Walt Disney, one of the world's largest mass media companies, has decided to join the fight against obesity. The company, known for its popular theme parks, plans to ban commercials for junk food on its widely watched children network Disney TV, radio, web channels - and inside the theme parks themselves. Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports from Washington.