Why Does Disney Continue to Treat Scarlett Johansson With Such Disrespect?
It’s a disturbing pattern
It’s time for my weekly Sunday rant, and this one has been festering for several days, give or take a few years. In fact, I am so irate that I replaced the usual Bailey’s Irish Creme in my morning coffee with Jack Daniels. Yeah, it’s gonna be one of those.
By now you have surely heard about the lawsuit Scarlett Johansson filed against Disney alleging breach of contract over her compensation for the film Black Widow. In what is likely to be the first of many such cases against the major studios, Johansson claims that Disney violated her contract by releasing Black Widow simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+. Her contract stipulates that she would receive part of the theatrical box office take, and her attorney claims that there was an agreement with Disney that the film would not be streamed on Disney+ starting the same day as its release in theaters.
The House of Mouse responded with the most ludicrous statement seen this side of a Greg Abbott press conference:
“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.”
First of all, what does Johansson's demand that Disney honor their agreement have to do with COVID-19? And does the $340 billion company that fired tens of thousands of workers during the pandemic, watched their stock price and compensation for executives soar, and then reopen their parks as the pandemic still raged really want to talk about who the callous one is? It’s a classic misdirection technique, but this time it backfired.
So what did Disney do next? They leaked that Johansson had already made $20 million from the film, an underhanded tactic slammed by both her lawyer and her talent agency CAA. CAA responded to Disney’s leak of her salary with this quote:
“The company included her salary in their press statement in an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman, as if that were something she should be ashamed of. Scarlett is extremely proud of the work that she, and all of the actors, writers, directors, producers, and the Marvel creative team have been a part of for well over a decade.”
It is well known that all of the original six Avengers took home big paydays by the time of Avengers: Endgame. According to estimates by Forbes, upfront salaries (not counting back-end profit sharing) ranged from $20M for Robert Downey Jr. to $15M for the remaining five (Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner). Other MCU actors (like Paul Rudd, for example) reportedly made around $8M upfront. When the cut from tickets sales is factored in, the number skyrockets, especially for Downey; he reportedly took in another $55M above his base salary.
Considering this, it seems more than a little odd that Disney would suddenly try to make Johansson's Black Widow salary seem outlandish. It is a clear attempt to turn public opinion against her, but would they have tried this same tactic against Downey or Hemsworth in a similar dispute? Not damn likely, so why do it with Johansson?
For me, the answer is clearly shown by the simple fact that we got this Black Widow film now instead of immediately after 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, which is where it belongs in the timeline. Disney has never valued either the character of Black Widow or Scarlett Johansson the way it did other characters and actors in the series, despite the crucial role she often played (below is an article showing five times she was the key Avenger). To quote Eric Pierce from this excellent piece, “It’s almost like they hate the character or something.”
Could this complete lack of respect have anything to do with the fact that she is the only woman in the midst of a pack of male heroes? Several women’s groups think the answer is yes, at least with regard to Disney’s various attacking responses. While not taking a side in the legal dispute itself, a joint response from ReFrame, Time’s Up and Women In Film stated:
“We are not taking a position in the legal matter between Scarlett Johansson [and] The Walt Disney Company, but we have great difficulty understanding the statement that Disney made about Johansson. She is seen by them as insensitive and selfish while she stands up for her rights. This is a direct attack on her gender, and her status as a female. This type of behavior shouldn’t be allowed in this society, where women have already been deemed less important when it comes to protecting rights.”
I certainly don’t discount this as a factor myself. It is also noteworthy that while her former co-stars may be keeping silent on the suit itself because it is a legal battle, they were all quick to defend Chris Pratt when he was attacked on Twitter for something as inane as being the “worst Chris” among Evans, Hemsworth, and Pratt. Yet when Disney launches personal attacks on Johansson, we get nothing but crickets from most of the Men of Marvel.
Only Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the MCU, has said anything, tweeting this reaction: “Told em they should’ve made a #Drax movie but noooooo!” It was clearly meant to be funny, but a statement of support from an actor who also feels Disney wasted his character would have been better.
To his credit, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is one who has not remained silent. He is reportedly “angry and embarrassed” over Disney’s response to the lawsuit. It is further reported that he tried to get Disney to “make this right with her.” At least Feige gets it.
Ultimately, my feelings about this can be best summed up by a line from the greatest film of all time. Near the beginning of The Godfather, Vito Corleone asks the undertaker Bonasera a simple question:
“Bonasera, Bonasera, what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?”
It’s a question Scarlett Johansson has surely been asking Disney for a long time.