Leonardo DiCaprio funneled grants through dark money group to fund climate nuisance lawsuits, emails show
DiCaprio's foundation awarded grants to the Resources Legacy Fund, a dark money group, which then donated to a private law firm suing oil companies over climate change
Correspondence between Dan Emmett, a major
philanthropist, and Ann Carlson — a University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) climate professor — in 2017 revealed that the two worked with law firm
Sher Edling to raise money for its efforts to sue oil companies over alleged
climate change deception on behalf of state and local governments, according to
the emails obtained by watchdog group Government Accountability & Oversight
(GAO) and shared with Fox News Digital.
In their emails, Emmett and Carlson
discuss how Chuck Savitt, Sher Edling's director of strategic client
relationships, had sought Emmett's support and had already received support
from Terry Tamminen in his role as the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation's CEO, a
title he held between 2016 and 2019. When the emails were exchanged, Carlson,
who is now a senior Biden administration official, served as co-director of the
UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment, the advisory
board which Emmett still chairs.
"Chuck
Savitt who is heading this new organization behind the lawsuits has been
seeking our support," Emmett wrote to Carlson on July 22, 2017.
"Terry Tamminen in his new role with the DiCaprio Foundation has been a
key supporter."
Emmett also forwarded a message Savitt
sent him three days earlier on July 19, 2022 asking for his support, according
to the records. Savitt mentioned in that email that Sher Edling's first
lawsuits were filed with the support of the Collective Action Fund for
Accountability, Resilience and Adaptation, a fund managed at the time by dark money
group Resources Legacy Fund (RLF).
"Wanted to let you know that we filed
the first three lawsuits supported by the Collective Action Fund on
Monday," Savitt had told Emmett. "These precedent setting cases call
on 37 of the world's leading fossil fuel companies to take responsibility for
the devastating damage sea level rise - caused by their greenhouse gas
emissions - is having on coastal communities."
Savitt also offered to set up a meeting
between Emmett and Vic Sher, a partner at Sher Edling.
The email correspondence took place two
months before the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation publicly announced it would
contribute $20 million in grants to various climate and conservation causes.
The group's announcement, which has since been deleted but remains archived,
included a grant to the RLF "to support precedent-setting legal actions to
hold major corporations in the fossil fuel industry liable," closely
mirroring Savitt's language.
"These
grantees are active on the ground, protecting our oceans, forests and
endangered species for future generations – and tackling the urgent,
existential challenges of climate change," DiCaprio said at the time.
Tamminen added that the organization
believed it needed "to do as much as we can now, before it is too
late." The announcement didn't mention Sher Edling.
In February 2018, months after the initial
email exchange, Emmett told Carlson that she could mention to other prospective
donors that he and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation were now "serious
supporters" of Sher Edling's ongoing litigation. The suggestion came after
Carlson asked whether she should ask New York philanthropist Andy Sabin to
support the effort.
"You can tell him Terry's
organization and I are both serious supporters, that you are an advisor, that
the science is there, that it could do more for the environment than just about
anything going on if it succeeds," Emmett said in the email Carlson.
In addition to the Leonardo DiCaprio
Foundation and the Emmett Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and JPB Foundation have
contributed to the Collective Action Fund since 2017.
Sher Edling's website states that the firm
is specifically dedicated to representing "states, cities, public
agencies, and businesses in high-impact, high-value environmental cases."
Since its initial cases in July 2017 — filed on behalf of a city and two
counties in California — Sher Edling has sued major oil companies on behalf of
Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York City, Washington D.C., San
Francisco, Baltimore, Honolulu and several local governments across the
country, alleging the companies have deceived the public about climate change.
Most of the cases are ongoing with two,
involving San Francisco and Oakland, Calfornia, on appeal before a federal
panel.
"Obviously, the donors created —
including DiCaprio — several purported arms' lengths," Chris Horner, a
lawyer who represented GAO in the case involving the emails, told Fox News
Digital in an interview.
"This model used a couple of
pass-throughs, by which DiCaprio and, it appears, Dan Emmett and others could
run things, including DiCaprio's foundation and Resources Legacy Fund, and
they're not seen as financing the assault," Horner added.
Overall, the RLF contributed more than
$5.2 million to Sher Edling between 2017 and 2020, according to the group's tax
filings during that period. The organization doesn't disclose its donors and
declined to confirm who it previously received money from to fund Sher Edling's
litigation.
"From 2017 to 2020, Sher Edling
received grants from RLF to pursue charitable activities to hold fossil fuel
companies accountable for the accuracy of information they had disseminated to
consumers and the public about the role their products played in causing
climate change," an RLF spokesperson Mark Kleinman told Fox News Digital
in an email.
"RLF receives support from many
funding entities, and its board of directors and staff make all decisions as to
where the funding goes," the spokesperson continued.
Sher Edling declined to comment.
Experts have previously raised concerns
regarding the source of Sher Edling's funding for its climate litigation.
Michael Krauss, a law professor emeritus
at George Mason University, noted in a 2020 Forbes article the arrangement in
which Sher Edling receives a payout from localities it represents if its cases
are successful while, at the same time, it receives funding from tax-exempt
groups, thereby removing some risk involved with taking on such cases.
"Can a non-profit funnel donations to
a for-profit law firm that has already determined a different form of
compensation?" Kraus wrote. "May a law firm, which could be
fabulously enriched on a contingent basis, ethically accept funding that is
paid whether or not the client prevails?"
"If legislation through litigation is
bad, what to make of legislation through litigation subsidized by taxpayers
through charitable donations? We don’t have all the answers to these questions
yet," he continued. "I think we deserve them."
Emmett, Tamminen, Sabin and the Earth
Alliance, an organization that subsumed the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in
2019, didn't respond to requests for comment.
Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer at
Fox News Digital
The problems we have with the Hollywood left
The
problems we have with the Hollywood left
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left is it's the notion that accepting differences is no longer good enough,
you have to be complicit in them.
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left it's the notion that any differing opinion is a threat to your
very way of existence but never the opposite.
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left is the blatant hypocrisy of claiming to care about democracy
well on abashedly striving to take control of every step of the political
process.
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left is the notion that any idea or opinion outside of your own
ideology is morally repugnant and therefore needs to be silenced.
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left is the notion that your goals must be achieved using everyone
resources regardless on whether they agree.
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left is their supporting of rights situationally when convenient and
the outright rejection of those rights when it's in it's the inconvenient for
you.
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left isthat somehow you know
what's best for me enough to allow the government to make that choice for me
The problem we have with the
Hollywood left it's their failure to see the irony in labeling anyone different
than yourself as an extremist or a fundamentalist.
Originally written by Jason Blood.
Edited for this page.
(a) Who give a crap? (b) Why is this a new making item? (C) Why Hollywood air heads meeting with heads of state?
Mickey Rourke
breaks down reflecting on meeting with Putin, urges him to 'stop this s---' in
Ukraine
Mickey Rourke said he considered Putin to be 'empathetic' when
he met him in 2014
Listen to this article
In a new episode of "Piers Morgan Uncensored," Oscar-winning actor
Mickey Rourke broke down in tears while recalling a personal interaction he had
with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he struggled to contend with the
realization that the man he once thought to be "empathetic" bears
sole responsibly for the murderous atrocities committed in Ukraine.
"I looked over at Vladimir, and I could see somebody that
was genuinely concerned about where we were and someone who was empathetic and
he was there for a sincere reason," Rourke told Morgan.
The idea that the same man is single-handedly responsible for
the tragedies and lives lost in
Ukraine "blows my mind," Rourke said, adding that he
wished a "little bell would ring in [Putin’s] head or his heart and he’d
wake up and just stop all this sh--."
"I don’t understand what he wants, and it’s not only
combatants that are getting killed, but old people are getting killed, young
people are getting killed. Schools are getting targeted, hospitals are getting
targeted. All that sh--'s not right," he said.
Rourke became tearful as he recalled seeing a particularly haunting photo of
an older man who had lost five family members in the war and was left with only
his pet cat.
"The image that bothered me the most," he said.
"I saw this old man old and a little grey kitten and the old man survived
his house being bombed," Rourke said. "He lost five family members
and the only thing he had, it’s kind of hard for me to talk about it, the only
thing he had was this little grey kitty. I looked at that image … and I said
how can I have anything to worry about? Losing a movie? Or I’m having a bad
day?"
Addressing Putin directly, Rourke again fought back tears as he
pleaded with him to end the Ukraine war.
,"You're not going to live forever. Look at Peter the
Great, Napoleon, what happened to them trying to get more and more," he
said. "You've got your power and your money. Just live your life and let
these people in Ukraine be independent in the Democratic society they want to
live in and just stop today. Not tomorrow. just stop right now."
Ever read "The Power Elite"? Well, here you go....
Oscar winner Bradley Cooper and Hilary Clinton's top
aide, Huma Abedin, are reportedly dating after meeting via fashion icon and
Vogue editor, Anna Wintour.
Let’s make sure we boycott the film "Eric Larue" when its released and give it the film reviews it deserves.
Filmmakers move production out of Arkansas over state's abortion
trigger law
A film production company is relocating from Arkansas in
response to the U.S Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which now
allows the d state's abortion trigger law to take effect.
The movie, "Eric Larue," will now film in North
Carolina, where abortion is still legal.
Actor Michael Shannon will make his directorial debut with the
film “Eric Larue”, which follows the mother of the 17-year-old gunman who
fatally shot three of his classmates.
So, basically, another Hollywood jab at gun owners.
I other words, I'm a very wealthy Biden supporter
Multimillionaire actor actor Dean Norris criticized people who are complaining about soaring gas prices across the United States.
The "Breaking
Bad" star said current gas prices are "fair market" and urged
anyone who "love[s] Capitalism" to "stfu," an acronym for
shut the fuck up.
"You're not getting
'robbed' at the pump. You’re paying fair market price for a commodity. If you
love Capitalism so much then stfu."
To hell with the Amendments
He very left, very whacko
organization Animal rights nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) pushed back against a California animal shelter's decision to
turn away potential pet adoptees based on their opinions about gun control.
The Shelter Hope Pet Shop
in Thousand Oaks, California wrote on their website "We do not support
those who believe that the 2nd amendment gives them the right to buy assault
weapons. If your beliefs are not in line with ours, we will not adopt a pet to
you."
"If you hesitate,
because your core belief is that you believe teachers need to carry firearms,
then you will not get approved to adopt from us," the shelter continued.
"If you foster for us and believe in guns, please bring our dogs and/or
cats back, or we will arrange to have them picked up." People who lie
about being members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) will be potentially
be sued for fraud, the shelter further warned.
The Shelter Hope Pet Shop
is owned by actress Kim Sill.
Here’s another reason Hollywood shouldn’t preach to the rest of us.
'Flash' star Ezra Miller
hit with temporary protection order by family of 12-year-old in Massachusetts:
report
A Massachusetts court has
approved a temporary protection order against "Flash" star Ezra
Miller, 29, on behalf of the family of a 12-year-old.
The order "was
issued without advance notice because the Court determined that there is a
substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment," according to
the petition obtained by the outlet.
The mother of the
12-year-old claimed she grew concerned when Miller began to buy gifts for the
child - even after the gifts had been rejected.
"I kept wondering
why Ezra was here. Like, don’t you have Hollywood stuff to do? Don’t you have
movies coming out?" the mother told NBC News.
This is not the first
protective order approved against the "Justice League" star. A court
approved a protective order against Miller on behalf of Chase Iron Eyes and his
wife, Sara Jumping Eagle. The two claimed Miller "physically and
emotionally" abused their teenager, Tokata Iron Eyes.
The parents have accused
the "Flash" star of "psychologically manipulating, physically
intimidating and endangering the safety and welfare of Tokata Iron Eyes,"
according to the petition obtained by Fox News Digital.
While the court approved
the protective order on June 7, the court has not been able to "locate or
serve" Miller, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Miller was recently
arrested twice in Hawaii. The "Justice League" star pleaded no
contest to disorderly contest.
Pat Boone says ‘moral values’ are missing from today’s Hollywood’s films: ‘America’s image is being destroyed’
The
former teen idol of the '50s and '60s is starring in the new faith-based film
'The Mulligan'
At age
87, Pat Boone is still keeping busy in Hollywood, making films on his terms.
The
entertainer, who originally made his mark as a squeaky clean teen idol during
the ‘50s and ‘60s, is starring as "old pro" Will Dunn in "The
Mulligan," a faith-based film that focuses on forgiveness. It tells the
story of Paul McAllister (Eric Close) who seemingly had it all until his life
falls apart. With the help of a golf pro (Boone), he learns important lessons
on how to play a good game both on and off the course.
Boone,
an avid golf player who calls rock star and "golf monster" Alice
Cooper a pal, told Fox News Digital the role was "a dream of a
lifetime."
"I
liked the idea of the old pro helping a young man not only with his golf but
also his personal life – marriage and family," said Boone. "That
attracted me … And golf is certainly an attraction to me. I got to wear my own
wardrobe. Golf teaches honor, truthfulness and fair play. No other sport does
that in my opinion. It’s an uplifting film that was beautifully made. Families
can watch it together."
Boone
said it takes a lot to impress him these days when it comes to taking on a new
role. In leading a successful decades-long career in both music and movies,
Boone said "moral values" are missing from today’s film industry.
"The
film industry was a great export for America for so many years," he
explained. "We were showing America in its best light. Even though crime
was dealt with – because bad things do happen in life – but almost all American
movies ended with good triumphing and good people doing righteous things.
Criminals were always apprehended and punished.
"But
now, the whole thing is upside down. Some of the biggest films now show people
getting away with the worst things. Lawbreakers are even celebrated. The
criminals are becoming bigger. Heroes are doing worse things than criminals and
being rewarded for it."
"The
movies being made now are immoral," he shared. "They’ve lost their
meaning."
Boone's
criticisms weren’t just limited to films. He spoke out against "Big
Mouth," an animated puberty comedy series. Despite its TV-MA rating, Boone
said it's likely children would easily stream it on Netflix. A group on
CitizenGo previously organized an online petition against the series, calling
it "vulgar" and saying it "sexualizes adolescence."
"Here’s
a nerdish young kid – and he and his friends are learning about masturbation,
oral sex – all kinds of things," Boone said of the show. "And this is
on Netflix. I don’t even know how they can even defend it, but it’s there. It’s
all out there. Parents will just see it’s an animated show and think it’s OK
for their kids to watch it ... I mean, how bad can we get?"
"And
it’s not just on streaming services," he added. "On television, you
can hear all sorts of swear words. Nothing short of actual pornography is
celebrated on television now. I don’t know how to put it strongly enough, but I
just think the film industry is committing suicide. It’s killing itself as far
as I’m concerned. America’s image is being destroyed. High ratings have become
more important these days. We used to try to put our best foot forward. Sure,
people can criticize those films today and call them unrealistic, but we were
being altruistic. We wanted to present people in the best light. Now, we’re
just taking pleasure in profit, presenting people in the worst light and
celebrating it."
Boone
noted that even early on in his career, he was determined to stay true to his
Christian values. As a young actor, Boone risked suspension because he refused
to do a film that starred Marilyn Monroe.
But he
insisted that it wasn’t because he would be working alongside Hollywood’s most
iconic sex symbol.
"I
would have loved to do a movie with Marilyn Monroe," he clarified.
"We were both under contract at 20th Century Fox. But I just thought it
was an immoral story in which a younger guy gets involved with a still
beautiful, but slightly over-the-hill cabaret performer played by Marilyn Monroe.
He’s just a college kid, and she’s much older. She was lonely. She allows
herself to have an affair with him, breaks his heart and then leaves him. It’s
supposed to be a bittersweet memory. No harm, no foul.
"But
the story just didn’t sit right with me," he addded. "I remember
Buddy Adler, the head of 20th Century Fox, said to me, ‘You’re under a
seven-year contract. We could suspend you. And if we suspend you, the
musician’s union may cooperate with us. You’ll be through from recording. You
won’t be able to record for movies. You won’t be on television either.’
"We
had a couple of tense meetings in his office. I finally said, ‘Mr. Adler, you
do what you have to do. But I’ve got to follow my own conscious. I’ve got
millions of teenage fans. I’d love to make a movie with Marilyn Monroe, but I
can’t make this immoral story. Teenage fans will undoubtedly get the wrong
message and think it’s OK to have an illicit affair. … I just can’t do
it."
Monroe
died in 1962 at age 36 from a barbiturate overdose. Casting moved forward, and
"The Stripper" was released in 1963 starring Joanne Woodward and
Richard Beymer. According to Boone, the film was "a terrible flop,"
and the studio lost money.
"A
teacher once told me, ‘It’s always right to do right, and it’s always wrong to
do wrong.' It sounds so simple, but that’s one of the lessons I still try to
follow, even in my career," said Boone. "It was a moral lesson. I’ve
turned down songs with lyrics that I just couldn’t sing. It just didn’t feel
right for me to do. The same thing applies to movies and television. My form of
entertainment has made me who I am. I’m not about to change that now."
Still,
Boone said he remains hopeful that filmmakers will want to continue sharing
positive stories that align with his beliefs. He currently has several projects
in the works.
"I’m
still getting scripts," said Boone. "I think the word is out in
Hollywood – if you have a role for an 80-year-old who still remembers his
lines, get Pat Boone!"
"People
want me to portray the older guy now, but I’m enjoying playing the good guy
with morals," he shared. "I just want to do good in my profession and
not succumb to anything. I’m not scrapping my moral code for the box
office."
When celebrities enter the political circle
Celebrities, politicians who love to lecture America on the environment but rarely practice what they preach
Several liberals continue to use
fossil fuel energy while bemoaning climate change
On days celebrating the
environment like Earth Day, celebrities and politicians like to lecture average
Americans about how they need to change their behavior to fight climate change.
However, they often fail to practice what they preach.
Over the years, liberal
politicians and celebrities have been accused of hypocrisy for failing to live
by the eco-friendly lifestyles they advocate. Here are several examples of
Hollywood A-listers, tech billionaires, and Democrat politicians who have been
caught being hypocrites when it comes to helping the environment.
"Avengers" actor Mark
Ruffalo is a passionate crusader against climate change. He has participated in
events like the People’s Climate March in 2015 and advocated against fracking.
Ruffalo has used his career to advocate for environmental causes like when he
starred in and co-produced "Dark Waters," a film about a corporate
lawyer fighting to expose poisonous pollution by a corporation.
During the 2014 People's Climate
March, the Hulk actor was asked if celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio were the
best spokespeople to fight climate change when they themselves have significant
carbon footprints.
"Oh brother," Ruffalo
responded. "That is a question you shouldn’t be asking here today because
that defies the spirit of what this is about."
He later complained than anyone
critical of DiCaprio is either "a coward or an ideologue."
Like AOC, the filmmaker and
climate activist Michael Moore has been called out for capitalist hypocrisy in
the past. This continued with Moore’s recent environmental film "Planet of
the Humans," a movie about the dangers of mankind’s impact on the planet.
Around the film’s release on
Earth Day in 2020, Moore made several statements about the "planetary
emergency" caused by climate change. Although he advocated for greener
policies, Moore has previously been reported as owning a massive $2 million
property on Torch Lake in Michigan.
In addition, Moore was called out
for admitting that he didn’t realize that electric cars could actually be more
harmful for the environment than regular gas-guzzling cars saying "I
didn’t really think about where is the electricity coming from."
The Oscar-winning actor has
frequently called for protecting the environment. Even his 2021 Netflix film
"Don’t Look Up" was considered by many to be an allegory for climate
change and people’s failure to take it seriously. While his message has
remained the same for years, his hypocrisy has grown as he has failed to make
any meaningful changes.
DiCaprio is one of many
celebrities who repeatedly travels by private jet to climate summits despite
warning about impacting the planet. He also famously keeps multiple yachts and
homes that infamously increase one’s carbon footprint.
'The Talk' star Sharon Osbourne says firing led to death threats, blacklisting
The former co-host departed the
daytime show last March
By Stephanie Nolasco | Fox News
In March 2021, CBS announced the
outspoken TV personality "decided to leave" the long-running daytime
talk show following an intense discussion about race, a subsequent internal
investigation and a hiatus from the air.
Osbourne's exit took place a few
weeks after a heated exchange between the 69-year-old and co-host Sheryl
Underwood. At the time, Osbourne expressed support for "her very good
friend" Piers Morgan after he left "Good Morning Britain" over
differing opinions about Meghan Markle following the Duke and Duchess of
Sussex’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
"They said to me, ‘You are
on permanent suspension. We don’t think that you’re repentant enough. And we
will decide whether you ever come back,’" Osbourne recalled her dismissal
to the U.K. Sunday Times.
"And I said, ‘Well, who’s
going to make that decision?’" she shared. "And they said, ‘We can’t
tell you.’"
On the March 2021 episode, the
co-hosts talked about Morgan's previous statements about Markle, which many
deemed racist. Osbourne clarified during the interview, however, that she did
not agree with Morgan's opinions, but pressed Underwood to "educate"
her about the racist undertones of his criticism of the 40-year-old. The former
reality star would later claim that executives set her up for the conversation.
Morgan left "Good Morning
Britain" after saying he didn’t believe the former American actress when
she told Winfrey that the intense isolation she felt inside the royal family
led her to contemplate suicide. Osbourne issued a public apology following her
remarks, but soon faced allegations amid reports that she herself was racist.
According to CBS, its internal
inquiry said the show’s co-hosts, including Osbourne and Underwood, 58, were
not properly prepared by the show’s team for a discussion on race. But it said
there was no evidence found to support Osbourne’s claim CBS ordered she be
confronted about her support of Morgan, 57.
Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl
Underwood attend the CBS Daytime Emmy Awards after party on April 30, 2017, in
Pasadena, California. (Matthew Simmons/Getty Images)
"The Talk" was on
hiatus when the March 10 discussion was investigated. CBS said it had conducted
workshops and training "about equity, inclusion and cultural awareness for
the hosts, producers and crew."
Osbourne said she was blacklisted
and received death threats from critics after she publicly endorsed Morgan’s
right to free speech.
"They were saying they were
going to come in the night, cut my throat, cut Ozzy [Osbourne’s] throat, cut my
dogs’ throats," Osbourne explained. "I said, ‘I ain’t going out, I
ain’t doing anything.’ I just couldn’t stop crying because all I was thinking
about was all the things that I’ve gone through in my life, and now they’re
calling me a racist. This is insanity."
"My phone as far as my TV
career here was nonexistent, not one call," she continued. "Nothing.
In England and Australia, it never changed. Here it was like I was dead."
Osbourne said she stayed at home
to avoid conflicts with the public. She later resorted to ketamine therapy to
help her endure the public backlash. The controversial drug has been used to
treat anxiety and depression.
"If you’re a person that
stuffs things – ‘I’m fine, I’m fine’ – this drug relaxes you," said
Osbourne about her experience. "You’re not out completely. You can hear,
you can talk, but you’re so relaxed, and you can’t bulls--- on it. It’s a truth
drug."
Florida Senate passes bill stripping Disney of special self-governing power
The Florida Senate approved a bill
Wednesday that dissolves special self-governing status given to Disney over 50
years ago after the company publicly feuds with Republicans over a
controversial parental rights bill.
The Republican controlled chamber
passed the bill, by a margin of 23–16, that would dissolve special status
granted to the company that essentially allows Disney to self-govern on its
large property near Orlando.
The special status, known as The
Reedy Creek Improvement Act, was signed into law in May 1967 by Gov. Claude
Kirk in response to lobbying efforts by Disney. The entertainment giant
proposed building a recreation-oriented development on 25,000 acres of property
in a remote area of Central Florida's Orange and Osceola counties, which
consisted of 38.5 square miles of largely uninhabited pasture and swampland.
Orange and Osceola County did not
have the services or resources needed to bring the project to life, so the
state legislature worked with Disney to establish the Reedy Creek Improvement
District, a special taxing district that allows the company to act with the
same authority and responsibility as a county government.
The passage of the bill comes the day
after Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the legislature to take
up the measure.
"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 during a press conference last month as he was engaged in a war
of words with Disney over a bill he signed which prohibits classroom
instruction on "sexual orientation" and "gender identity"
with children in third grade or younger "or in a manner that is not
age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with
state standards."
Disney released a scathing statement
slamming the bill after its signing and referred to the bill as the "Don’t
Say Gay" bill despite the actual legislation omitting the word gay and not
containing language that bans the word "gay" in schools or in
discussions of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in the
classroom.
"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," Disney said. "Our goal as a company is for
this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we
remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to
achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of
LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida
and across the country."
DeSantis has remained committed to
his support of the bill which recent polling suggests is popular in the state
including with likely Democratic voters.
"Look, there’s policy disputes,
and that’s fine," DeSantis said earlier this month, "but when you're
trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant
threat."
"This wokeness will destroy this
country if we let it run unabated," DeSantis added. "So in Florida,
we take a very big stand against that."
In a statement to Fox News, DeSantis
Press Secretary Christina Pushaw argued that it's not "retaliatory"
for the state to pass legislation that "allows all corporations to do
business on a more even playing field."
"It was unfortunate that Disney
decided to wade into a political debate and attempt to overturn a common-sense
law, enacted by a duly elected legislature and signed by a duly elected
governor, with the support of the vast majority of Floridians," Pushaw
said. "In fact, it was Disney that ‘retaliated’ by publicly vowing to
‘repeal’ or have the law ‘struck down.’"
Republican Florida State Rep. Joe
Harding, who was a sponsor of the controversial parental rights bill, told Fox
News he plans to support the bill in the House and said he is surprised Disney
CEO Bob Chapek is still employed by the company.
"Disney has given the greatest
example you can of what not to do in crisis management," Harding said in a
statement. "How their CEO has not been fired is insane. Florida is
continuing to lead. Large corporations must be held accountable."
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