Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have a beef. The governor and Disney World have been in a battle ever since Disney’s previous CEO, Bob Chapek, spoke out last year against the state’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law, which bans instructions about sexual orientation and gender identity at some elementary school classes. For a while it looked like DeSantis was winning when he seized control of Disney World’s special district, but in a stealth move, the company managed to stay independent by slipping in a clause at the last minute. Since then, the governor has vowed to “void anything Disney did on the way out the door.” And Iger called DeSantis’ retaliation as “anti-business” and “anti-Florida” earlier this month.
But Disney’s returning CEO, Bob Iger, said he’s open to having talks with DeSantis, as the state of Florida is important to the company.
“I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us,” Igor said in an interview with Time published Thursday, using a phrase popularized by The Godfather that means going to war. Iger added that he would be willing to have a sit-down with DeSantis: “If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that.”
The 72-year-old CEO added that he has always respected elected officials and this case is no different.
Disney and Gov. DeSantis have sparred for months over the company’s self-governing district which gave it a special tax status and other benefits regarding new construction and medical services. The arrangement, which has been in place since 1967, saved the company millions of dollars over the years.
Although tension has been brewing for a year now, Florida and Disney are deeply intertwined. Iger took care to highlight how Disney World has 75,000 employees, and welcomes millions of tourists in its theme parks near Orlando every year.
“Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that,” Iger said. “We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It’s that simple.”
Disney and representatives of DeSantis did not immediately return Fortune’s request for comment.
