ScarJo Lawsuit Both Blasted And Praised By Industry Insiders

In case you missed it, Scarlett Johansson is currently suing The Walt Disney Company. While you can read the full story here, long story short: she wasn’t happy with the release of Black Widow.

In the week since her lawsuit was filed, many have criticized Johansson’s motives and questioned her future with the company.

Even though it’s unlikely her character will be returning in any upcoming MCU project, just a few weeks ago it was reported that she was in talks to potentially produce and star in another hot company property-in-the-works, The Tower of Terror. However, it’s unclear now if that will still be the case.

Early Friday morning, the current President of the Screen Actors Guild, Gabrielle Carteris, issued a statement rallying behind Johansson saying, “Scarlett Johansson is shining a white-hot spotlight on the improper shifts in compensation that companies are attempting to slip by talent as distribution models change.” She added that she though the company should be ashamed of its “bullying” and “gender-shaming” tactics.

A separate, joint-statement issued by the organizations ReFrame, Time’s Up, and Women In Film previously criticized Disney’s effort “to characterize Johansson as insensitive or selfish for defending her contractual business rights.”

Despite all the support in her corner, Johansson’s decision isn’t entirely without critics. Unbiased Disney lawyer Daniel Petrocelli also released a statement Friday alleging the suit was “a highly orchestrated PR campaign to achieve an outcome that is not obtainable in the lawsuit.”

“No amount of public pressure can change or obscure the explicit contractual commitments. The written contract is clear as a bell,” Petrocelli continued.

A reasonable person should ask that if the contract was, in fact, “clear as a bell,” why would Johansson risk her entire career on a bid for attention?

Seriously speaking, it sounds as if Petrocelli is echoing the same tone that the company established when it called Johansson’s suit a “callous disregard” for pandemic’s ongoing effects.

While it’ll certainly be a while before we see an outcome of this suit, we’ll be providing updates as they become available. So be sure to follow The DisInsider for continued coverage, in addition to all the best and most reliable Disney-centric news on the web!

Source: Deadline, Variety