Scarlett Johansson filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Disney two weeks ago after they screwed her over on her contractual backend by releasing Black Widow on their Premier Access streaming service. BW’s box office numbers struggled, and that struggle was partially attributed to the fact that millions of people simply streamed the movie from the comfort of their own home, the profits of which Scarlett does not get a cut. In retaliation and response of Scarlett’s lawsuit, Disney immediately went Full Petty and issued this statement:

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of ‘Black Widow’ on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 [million] she has received to date.”

Disney came out firing, which – in my opinion – shows that Scarlett’s lawsuit has some merit. They wouldn’t have come out, guns blazin’, if this was just some nuisance suit. People are still really mad about this statement from Disney too – Scarlett’s CAA agent, Bryan Lourd, called out Disney’s sexism and appalling language. I said at the time that this has the power to really shift a lot of loyalties and business-as-usual within Hollywood. Powerful people might actually have to take sides and there’s a “going to the mattresses” vibe. Speaking of, the president of SAG-AFTRA, Gabrielle Carteris, issued her statement on behalf of the actor’s union.

“Disney should be ashamed of themselves for resorting to tired tactics of gender-shaming and bullying,” Carteris said in a statement. “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.”

“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.”

[From Deadline]

Honestly? While I will hate on ScarJo for many, many things, I admire her for what she’s doing here, and I’m glad that her union and several womens’ groups and equal pay groups are backing her too. Carteris is right – Disney’s statement is gendered and Disney was trying “to put a woman in her place.” Which, again, shows that Scarlett’s lawsuit has merit, and that she’s been treated differently (with less respect) by Disney/Marvel.

Meanwhile, “longtime Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli” gave an interview to Variety in which he… continued to smear Scarlett as a greedy a–hole. Petrocelli told Variety: “It is obvious that this is 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.” A lawsuit isn’t a PR campaign. It’s a lawsuit, and if Scarlett didn’t have all of her ducks in a row, Disney’s smears would have worked. That’s why he’s mad.

Now, Petrocelli also claims that the revenue from the Premier Access streams are factored into the box-office tally. Meaning, I guess, that they’ll just lump the Premier Access money with the box office money and it’s all the same and ScarJo might hit her bonus markers that way? Which is interesting, if true, although I think Scarlett’s case is more about how she had zero choice in BW coming out on Premier Access on the same day as the theatrical release. Speaking of, the Disney lawyers also claim that they were blindsided by Scarlett’s lawsuit and that she had not raised any of these issues beforehand. That’s a damn lie and everyone knows it. Anyway, this Variety piece is interesting and I bet Petrocelli’s comments will be entered into the court record at some point.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Marvel.