According to the Daily Mail, Disneyland unveiled an LGBT-friendly ‘Pride Nite’ event in June after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his battle against the progressive entertainment giant.
The $119-a-ticket party was announced on Twitter Monday afternoon, just moments after a press conference in which DeSantis threatened to build a state prison next to Walt Disney World and Reedy Creek.
That move was in retaliation after the entertainment giant attempted to circumvent the authority of his oversight board. Disney found itself in DeSantis’ sights last year after ousted CEO Bob Chapek slammed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill – better known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.
According to Disney, characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse will wear special rainbow costumes at the event to celebrate everything LGBTQ.
Pride Nite will take place in Disney’s original Anaheim theme park in liberal California, thousands of miles away from its huge Orlando resort which is in DeSantis’ sights.
But some questioned whether Pride Nite was designed to further inflame tensions, although Disney has long held ‘gay days’ for LGBT fans at its US theme parks.
‘Ron brought a plastic spork to a nuke fight. The Mouse is an IP firm that happens to run a theme park,’ one person on Twitter said while quoting the announcement.
Another person online said: ‘DeSantis says he will build a prison to punish Disney. Disney announces pride night. Would love to have seen DeSantis’s face after that one!’
Not all on social media were so supportive of Disney’s announcement. ‘Add Disney to the list of woke companies to boycott. F**king pride night. Good Lord. Walt is rolling in his grave,’ wrote one angry Twitter user.
‘Why Disney no longer gets my dollars,’ wrote another person. ‘I’m sure the weirdo Disney Adults will love this’ remarked one user. Disney’s battle with Florida first began in 2022 when company officials publicly spoke out against the then proposed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
The new law prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in Florida schools through third grade. Former CEO Bob Chapek responded to the bill and said at the time he called DeSantis to ‘express our disappointment and concern.’ In response, Florida Republicans dissolved the state’s special tax district.
Although the ‘Pride Nite’ is being held on the opposite side of the country, Twitter users were not convinced that the announcement had nothing to do with the current controversy occurring in Florida.
‘This is Disney standing up to Florida’s radical governor,’ wrote actor Steven Pasquale. ‘The fireworks will be so large and so gay that they will cover the coup Disney launches in Tallahassee,’ one person joked. ‘The last thing Meatball Ron will hear is “Oh Gawrsh” before Goofy shows him the true meaning of Hush Puppy.’
