SAG-AFTRA President speaks out on Scarlett Johansson’s “Black Widow” trial – Deadline

SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris weighed in on behalf of the Actors Union on Scarlett Johansson’s trial on Friday alleging that Disney violated her contract for her role in Black Widow.

Johansson filed a lawsuit last week, saying the studio broke its contract by releasing the Marvel movie Black Widow on Disney + at the same time it hit theaters. Filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles, it targets a new phenomenon in the studio streaming war: day and date releases in theaters and on streaming platforms.

Disney hit back at the July 29 lawsuit, saying it showed “insensitive disregard” for the Covid-19 pandemic. He also revealed that Johansson has so far received $ 20 million from Black Widow to date, a rare star compensation release. Organizations like Women In Film, ReFrame and Time’s Up have criticized the attempt to “label Johansson insensitive or selfish for defending his contractual commercial rights,” the groups said in a joint statement.

SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris echoed those sentiments on Friday.

“Disney should be ashamed of resorting to tired tactics of humiliation and intimidation,” Carteris said in a statement. “Actors should be paid for their work in accordance with their contracts. Scarlett Johansson shines the spotlight on inappropriate compensation changes that companies try to work around with talent as distribution models change. No one in any area of ​​work should fall victim to unexpected reductions in expected pay. It is unreasonable and unfair. 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 profits of the company.

She added, “Additionally, we are deeply concerned about the gendered tone of Disney’s criticism of Ms. Johansson. Women are not “callous” when they stand up and fight for a fair wage – they are leaders and champions of economic justice. Women have been the victims of wage inequality for decades, and they have been more victims of comments like those contained in Disney press releases. This kind of attack has no place in our society and SAG-AFTRA will continue to defend our members against all forms of prejudice. “