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SAG-AFTRA released a statement from President Gabrielle Carteris, speaking out against Disney’s “gender-shaming and bullying” of Black Widow’s Scarlett Johansson.
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris blasted Disney regarding its lawsuit with actress Scarlett Johansson over the release of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow.
Johansson sued Disney after the film was released simultaneously in theaters and on the company’s streaming service Disney+. Since then, the situation has grown quite messy, with the company publicly attacking Johansson by claiming that the suit shows “callous disregard” for the events of the last year, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a shield to defend its dual-release of the film, and publicly releasing how much Johansson was compensated for the film. In a statement, Carteris decided to weigh in and label Disney’s actions and behavior as nothing other than bullying and gender-shaming.
“Disney should be ashamed of themselves for resorting to tired tactics of gender-shaming and bullying,” said Carteris. Her words herald Johansson as a hero for highlighting how companies are trying to take advantage of talent, especially female talent, as the distribution landscape shifts. “Scarlett Johansson is shining a white-hot spotlight on the improper shifts in compensation,” the president said, labeling the treatment the actress has faced as “unreasonable and unjust.”
“Nobody in any field of work should fall victim to surprise reductions in expected compensation.” Carteris believes that company giants such as Disney can easily handle satisfying their contractual promises to actors like Johansson, saying that “Disney and other companies are doing very well and can certainly live up to their obligations to compensate” performers, noting them and their work as the true source of these companies’ profits.
Carteris also believes that Disney’s actions and words have spoken volumes about their treatment towards women and female talent, showing concern over how the company has acted towards Johansson since the suit was filed. “Women are not ‘callous’ when they stand up and fight for fair pay – they are leaders and champions for economic justice. Women have been victimized by pay inequity for decades, and they have been further victimized by comments like those in Disney’s press statements.”
The statement from Carteris is one of the latest reactions to the situation between Johansson and Disney, and not the first to be fearful of Disney’s actions being gender-based. The organizations Women In Film, ReFrame and Time’s Up released a joint statement stating that Disney’s attack on Johansson “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.”
We will have to wait and see how the suit will progress and if any more voices will chime in supporting or condemning the actions of either party involved in the suit.
Source: SAG-AFTRA
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