Ron DeSantis: Disney Opposes Parental Rights but Lines Pockets with Communist Party of China Money
Disney will push for transgenderism to be taught to five-year-olds in classrooms, and express moral outrage over basic parental rights, but the company is absolutely silent when it comes to lining its pockets from its relationship with the Communist Party of China (CCP), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Thursday.
The governor used an opportunity during a stop in Boca Raton to address Disney’s hypocrisy after the company’s CEO Bob Chapek made it clear that Disney leaders are opposed to the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which protects children in kindergarten through third grade from classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity. Critics have falsely labeled the measure the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Chapek said Disney’s leaders were opposed to the measure but “chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind-the-scenes, engaging directly with lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle.”
Chapek added that he called the governor “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” and added that a meeting with the governor is on the horizon.
But speaking to supporters Thursday, DeSantis made it clear that he will not back down to woke corporations.
“The chance that I am going to back down from my commitment to students and back down from my commitment to parent rights simply because of fraudulent media narratives or pressure from woke corporations — the chances of that are zero,” he said to applause before addressing Disney’s blatant hypocrisy.
“And when you have companies that have made a fortune of being family-friendly and catering to families and young kids, you know, they should understand that parents of young kids do not want this injected into their kid’s kindergarten classroom,” he said, explaining that parents do not want their first graders to “go and be told that they can choose an opposite gender.”
“That is not appropriate for those kids. So if you’re family-friendly, understand the parents — who are actually raising families — want to have their rights respected,” he continued.
“And I also think that you have companies like a Disney that are going to say and criticize parents’ rights — they’re going to criticize the fact that we don’t want transgenderism in kindergarten and first grade classrooms –” he began, before pointing to the key flaws in Disney’s strong sense of indignation.
“If that’s the hill they’re going to die on, then how do they possibly explain lining their pockets with their relationship with the Communist Party of China?” he asked. “Because that’s what they do, and they make a fortune, and they don’t say a word about the really brutal practices that you see over there at the hands of the CCP.”
“And so in Florida, our policy’s got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens — not on the musing of woke corporations,” he said to further applause.
Indeed, over the past weeks, and particularly this week following the state Senate’s passage of the legislation, the left has been spreading false narratives about the measure, which simply prohibits classroom discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity. Nowhere in the legislation does it single out specific words such as “gay,” despite the establishment media’s narrative and false label “Don’t Say Gay.”