Scarlett Johansson lawsuit: SAG AFTRA President speaks out, says Disney should be ashamed

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Gabrielle Carteris, has supported Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson in her tiff with The Walt Disney Company regarding allegations of breach of contract and lashed out at the American media giant. 

The development comes after Women In Film, ReFrame, and Time's Up released a joint statement, accusing Disney of launching a "gendered character attack" against the Black Widow actor. 

Black Widow premiered on June 29, at various events around the world, and was released in the United States on July 9 simultaneously in theatres and through Disney+ with Premier Access. According to reports, the film will be made available on Disney+ Hotstar on October 8. 

'Nobody should fall victim to surprise reductions'

Regarding the lawsuit that Johansson filed against The Walt Disney Company, the SAG-AFTRA president said that Disney should be ashamed of itself. She said in a statement:     

Disney should be ashamed of themselves for resorting to tired tactics of gender-shaming and bullying. 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.

Adding to her own statement, she pointed out that women should stand up and fight for fair pay: 

Additionally, we are deeply concerned by the gendered tone of Disney’s criticism of Ms. Johansson. 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. These sorts of attacks have no place in our society and SAG-AFTRA will continue to defend our members from all forms of bias.

More about Scarlett Johansson lawsuit

Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney over the release of Black Widow has been making headlines recently. According to reports, Johansson sued Disney over a breach in her contract, when the company released Black Widow simultaneously in theatres and on Disney+. She also claimed that the breach cost her a potential $50 million. 

After Disney's statement in response blamed Johansson for being dismissive of the ongoing pandemic by asking for her due, several women’s equity-focused organizations, including Time’s Up, ReFrame and Women and Film partnered to release a joint statement condemning the company. The organizations in their statement called it a "gendered character attack" by Disney against Johansson. Johansson's agent Bryan Lourd, notorious for rarely making public statements, also spoke out against Disney and mentioned how they had “shamelessly and falsely accused Ms Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic."

More information about Johansson's lawsuit can be found, here. 

(IMAGE - Scarlett Johansson fan page, Instagram)