Fact Check

Did Disney World Annul Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Marriage?

We previously confirmed that DeSantis got married at Disney World in 2009.

Published Aug 7, 2023

 (@HalfwayPost/Twitter)
Image Via @HalfwayPost/Twitter
Claim:
Disney World annulled Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' marriage in August 2023.

In August 2023, claims began to spread on social media platforms that Disney World had annulled Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' marriage.

The claim spread amid a feud between DeSantis (who announced his candidacy for U.S. president in May) and the Walt Disney Company, which began when Disney opposed a state law that prohibited classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade. In a previous fact check, Snopes confirmed that DeSantis got married at Disney World in 2009.

A TikTok video posted on Aug. 6, 2023, showed a tweet that said, "BREAKING: Disney World just announced they officially annulled Ron DeSantis's marriage because he got married there, and they invalidated his marriage license." 

At the time of writing, the TikTok had over 130,000 views. In addition to finding the original post on Twitter (which was recently rebranded "X"), we also found posts that included the claim on Facebook. We also received reader mail about the claim.

The claim is satirical. The Halfway Post is a Twitter account run by comedian Dash MacIntyre, who wrote in the account's bio:

Dada news. Halfway true comedy and satire by @DashMacIntyre I don't report the facts, I improve them. Follow me on the Twitter competitors too.

We've previously fact-checked satirical posts from The Halfway Post before, including one that claimed a Florida judge ruled the Bible should be banned as well as another that claimed Grindr threatened to reveal GOP politicians who used the app.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Sources

Ibrahim, Nur. "Did Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis Get Married at Disney World?" Snopes, 18 Apr. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ron-desantis-married-disney-world/.

---. "No, Florida Judge Did Not Rule That Bible Should Be Banned." Snopes, 9 May 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/florida-judge-bible-banned/.

LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. "Is Grindr Threatening To Reveal GOP Politicians Who 'Secretly' Use the App?" Snopes, 23 Mar. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/grindr-republicans-gop/.

Schneider, Mike. "DeSantis Board Sues Disney in Latest Tug-of-War in Florida." AP News, 2 May 2023, https://apnews.com/article/disney-desantis-florida-theme-parks-lawsuit-8e650a78aec6d882921f61947b5ce31f.

---. "DeSantis-Controlled Disney World District Abolishes Diversity, Equity Initiatives." AP News, 1 Aug. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/disney-desantis-florida-dei-theme-park-e3b526acfc6078b6f78626229de2786d.

---. "DeSantis' Retaliation against Disney Hurts Florida, Former Governors and Lawmakers Say." AP News, 6 Aug. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/disney-desantis-feud-lgbtq-74591d962dc30065fe2dd6947bf12d2e.

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine is a fact-checker for Snopes.