Gabrielle Carteris, President of Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, called out Disney for its derogatory remark on actor Scarlett Johansson.
In a statement released on Friday, Carteris said that Disney was gender-shaming and bullying. “Women are not ‘callous’ when they stand up and fight for fair pay – they are leaders and champions for economic justice,” she said.
The SAG-AFTRA referred to Johansson’s lawsuit that alleged that Disney violated her contract for her role in Black Widow.
Carteris stated that their criticism of Johanson had a gendered tone and added, “Women have been victimized by pay inequity for decades, and they have been further victimized by comments like those in Disney’s press statements. These sorts of attacks have no place in our society and SAG-AFTRA will continue to defend our members from all forms of bias.”
Johansson, who plays the role of Russian spy Natasha Romanoff also known as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, filed a lawsuit against Disney over breach of contract after the company released the Marvel superhero film Black Widow simultaneously on Disney+ and theatres.
A Wall Street Journal report quoted a person familiar with Johansson’s contract as saying the Disney+ release of the film is projected to cost the actor more than $50 million.
Disney denied the claims and called out Johansson’s action and said that it was “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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“Actors must be compensated for their work according to their contracts. 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. Nobody in any field of work should fall victim to surprise reductions in expected compensation. It is unreasonable and unjust. Disney and other content companies are doing very well and can certainly live up to their obligations to compensate the performers whose art and artistry are responsible for the corporation’s profits,” Carteris further said.
Earlier, Time’s Up, ReFrame, and Women In Film released a statement that criticised Disney for its ‘gendered character attack’ on Johansson.