Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Disney's lawsuit against him 'political'

April 27 (UPI) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Thursday that Disney's federal lawsuit against him over its governing district is "political" and he believes the action has no merit.

DeSantis and Disney have been in a tit-for-tat dispute since last year after the entertainment giant came out against a law the governor backed that banned discussing sexual orientation or identity in public-school classrooms.

Walt Disney Parks and Resort filed the lawsuit against DeSantis on Wednesday, arguing he led an unconstitutional political retaliation against the company after it publicly disagreed with the law, which opponents have commonly called "don't say gay" legislation.

In February, DeSantis signed a bill removing Walt Disney World's power to govern itself, handing the responsibility for the Reedy Creek Improvement District to the state and with a new board appointed by the governor. The lawsuit said that move was in retaliation for Disney speaking out against the governor.

In response, DeSantis said it is actually Disney that is playing politics.

"I think [the Disney lawsuit is] political," DeSantis said in Jerusalem while on a trip that his office said was an international trade mission. "Do you want one company to have its own fiefdom, or do you want everyone to live under the same laws? The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no accountability are over in the state of Florida."

Disney filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, charging that DeSantis and various state officials were conducting a "patently retaliatory" campaign against the company that is "anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."

The company said voicing its opinion about the Parental Rights in Education Act, which the anti-LGBTQ measure is officially named, is constitutionally protected speech.

In the suit, Disney also said DeSantis's efforts have jeopardized the company's economic future because the new state oversight board installed by DeSantis affects "duly agreed development contracts which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney's investment dollars and thousands of jobs."