DeSantis said ex-Disney CEO told him about 'woke' pressure to oppose 'Don't Say Gay' bill

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says that in spring 2022, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek called to tell him about the "pressure" he faced to oppose the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed by critics as the "Don't say gay bill."

In his memoir, "The Courage to be Free: Florida's Blueprint for American Revival," slated to be released Thursday, DeSantis wrote: "As the controversy over the Parental Rights in Education bill was coming to a head, Chapek called me. He did not want Disney to get involved, but he was getting a lot of pressure to weigh in against the bill," Fox News reported Monday.

DeSantis said he told Chapek that if Disney advocated against the legislation, people will ask, "'Gee, how come Disney has never said anything about China, where they make a fortune?'"

The governor predicted that if Disney would have stayed out of the bill, the company would have faced a few days of mostly online outrage.

"Then there will be some new outrage that the 'woke' mob will focus on and people will forget about this issue, especially considering the outrage is directed at a political-media narrative, not the actual text of the legislation itself," he wrote in his book.

Disney's advocacy against the bill combined with its inclusion of messages on gender and sexuality in its shows and movies led to Florida's efforts to remove the Walt Disney Company's special tax status and control of a self-governing district.