Scarlett Johansson’s talent agency, CAA along with ReFrame and Time’s Up, have come out in support of the ‘Black Widow’ actor after condemning Disney’s response to the ‘Black Widow’ contract breach lawsuit.
In its reaction to the lawsuit, Disney accused Scarlett Johansson of having a ‘callous disregard for the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic’, after the actress sued the company for releasing Black Widow on streaming.
A spokesperson for the Walt Disney Company said: ‘There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.’
According to Deadline, responding to this, the advocacy organizations issued a joint statement calling Disney’s characterization of Scarlett Johansson a “gendered character attack.”
The statement read, “While we take no position on the business issues in the litigation between Scarlett Johansson and The Walt Disney Company, we stand firmly against Disney’s recent statement which attempts to characterize Johansson as insensitive or selfish for defending her contractual business rights.”
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Calling out Disney, the statement further continued, “This gendered character attack has no place in a business dispute and contributes to an environment in which women and girls are perceived as less able than men to protect their own interests without facing ad hominem criticism.”
The two-time Oscar nominee’s agency, CAA’s co-chairman Bryan Lourd also blasted Disney earlier in a statement for shaming her publicly and “deliberately” moving “the revenue stream and profits” of ‘Black Widow’ “to the Disney Plus side of the company leaving artistic and financial partners out of their new equation.” He also slammed the media conglomerate for leaking her salary in “an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman.”
The agent, who is one of the foremost power brokers in the film industry, was incensed that Disney implied the actor was disregarding the impact of a global pandemic on the entertainment business.
“They have shamelessly and falsely accused Ms Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic, in an attempt to make her appear to be someone they and I know she isn’t,” Lourd said.
Lourd went on to note that Johansson has appeared in nine Disney and Marvel movies, which he said have earned the company billions of dollars in ticket sales.
“Disney’s direct attack on her character and all else they implied is beneath the company that many of us in the creative community have worked with successfully for decades,” Lourd added.
