Who is Randy Fine? Architect of 'Don't Say Gay' bill says 'no U-turns' in stripping Disney of privileges
REEDY CREEK, FLORIDA: Florida won't give up on its battle against Disney, according to the controversial Don't Say Gay bill's author. Florida State Representative Randy Fine said that the studio needs to stop making woke movies in order for the media juggernaut to mend fences with Florida.
In the wake of former CEO Bob Iger's return, the Financial Times reported that Florida lawmakers were considering allowing Disney to maintain its autonomous district in the Orlando region. In response to the report, the governor's office said in a statement, "Governor DeSantis does not make U-turns," reported Daily Mail. The governor was "right to champion removing the extraordinary benefit." The governor's remark, according to Fine, 48, implied that there was no chance the state would overturn the tax statute that had removed Disney's unique privileges, but: “There may be a plan on how to deal with this moving forward, but undoing what we did in May, has never been under consideration.”
RELATED ARTICLES
Inside $10M-a-year 'consultant' Bob Iger and Bob Chapek's frosty relationship amid Disney CEO drama
Damned if you do, damned if you don't: Disney now faces backlash for OPPOSING 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
Disney has been in charge of overseeing Reedy Creek's administration since 1967. The region is run by its 19 landowners, Disney World being the largest. It is in charge of controlling land use and delivering vital public services like fire protection, ambulance, water, electricity, and sanitization. All public roads and bridges are also managed and maintained by the district. Referring to the most recent work of the organization, Fine said to Daily Mail: “Disney needs to focus less on politics, and more on creating the products that its customers want. These movies, Lightyear and Strange World, people aren't buying it. So I think it starts with understanding your market and create products that your market wants, and they've lost sight of that. I hope Bob Iger will right that ship, he will fix the company and that will fix his relationship with the state of Florida.”
After reports that Disney's board had received numerous complaints about Bob Chapek, 61, Iger, 71, unexpectedly took over as the president of one of the greatest film studios in the world on November 27. According to reports, Chapek received criticism for Disney's ambiguous response to the Don't Say Gay bill. When pressed, Chapek subsequently denounced the law after originally declining to comment on it.
The bill, which in reality prohibits teaching gender and sexual ideology in public school classrooms before the third grade, sparked outrage in the media and among liberal Disney employees. “The previous CEO threatened to use the power of the special privileges they were given to interfere with the sovereignty of a state that wasn't appropriate,” Fine told Daily Mail. He continued: “I think that the new old CEO has acknowledged that was a mistake and he doesn't have to be defensive about it. He's not the one who made the mistake, so I think it's easier to solve a problem when you're not the one who created the problem.”
Who is Randy Fine?
In 2016 and 2018, Randy Fine, a Republican politician from the United States and a former CEO in the casino sector, won reelection to the Florida House of Representatives from the 53rd district. He represents the southern part of Brevard County.