Disney “should be ashamed” of its statement against Scarlett Johansson

The Screen Actor’s Guild chairman on Friday slammed Disney for “harassing” Marvel actress Scarlett Johansson in a public statement he made regarding the “Black Widow” star’s lawsuit against the company last week. .

Gabrielle Carteris said Disney “should be ashamed” of its “gender humiliation” tactics, which suggested the actor had a “callous disregard” for the dangers of Covid-19 to moviegoers.

“Actors should be paid for their work according to their contracts,” she said in a statement. “Scarlett Johansson shines the spotlight on inappropriate compensation changes that companies are trying to pass up on talent as distribution models change.”

Carteris, whose organization represents around 160,000 actors, advertisers, broadcast journalists and performers in the media space, said that no one in any field of work should “fall victim to unexpected reductions in expected pay.”

She said SAG was deeply concerned about the “gendered tone” of Disney’s response.

“Women are not ‘callous’ when they stand up and fight for a fair wage – they are leaders and champions of economic justice,” she said. “Women have been victims of wage inequality for decades, and they are even more victims of comments like those in Disney press releases. These types of attacks have no place in our society and SAG-AFTRA will continue to do so. defend our members against all forms of bias. “

Johansson filed a lawsuit against the company late last week, claiming that Disney had broken its contract when releasing “Black Widow” on its Disney + streaming service at the same time it was making its debut in Les. rooms.

Like many Marvel veterans, including Robert Downey Jr., Johansson negotiated to have a percentage of box office revenue added to his salary. This has become more and more common with the Marvel Cinematic Universe films due to their theatrical backgrounds.

The movie’s streaming release slashed box office profits, although Disney reported that “Black Widow” generated $ 60 million in sales on Disney + during its opening weekend. Globally, the film totaled just under $ 350 million in movie ticket sales, one of the lowest earnings of any Marvel movie to date.

In his lawsuit, Johansson claims that the switch to the “Black Widow” offer on Disney +, although primarily for the safety of the public, cost him $ 50 million.

“Disney and the other content companies are doing very well and can certainly meet their obligations to compensate performers whose art and talent are responsible for the company’s profits,” Carteris said of Friday. SAG.

Disney responded to Johansson’s lawsuit last week, saying he had “no merit” and “fully honored” his contract. The company also revealed that the star was paid $ 20 million and could see reduced sales on Disney +. It is not common for companies to share compensation information.