Emma Thompson has explained her decision to pull out of the film Luck, following the appointment of John Lasseter as boss of the company producing it.
Animator Lasseter was previously head of Walt Disney Animation Studio and Pixar, but took a leave of absence in 2017, following reports of serial sexual harassment in the workplace. These included accusations of “grabbing,” “kissing” and “making comments about physical attributes” during meetings and events, sometimes while drunk.
He later apologised to employees for what he called his “missteps” and any behaviour “they felt crossed the line in any way, shape or form”, before exiting the company in 2018.
Just weeks later, Lasseter was announced as the new chief of Skydance Animation – a move that angered people inside and outside the company, sparking headlines, including the LA Times’ “John Lasseter’s return proves that Hollywood still does not understand the damage he did”.
It was subsequently revealed that one of the people left frustrated was actress Emma, with her reps confirming she had pulled out of their upcoming movie, Luck.
While she did not comment on the matter at the time, Emma has now chosen to publish the letter she sent to Skydance executives, in which she says: “I can only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising”.
She continues: “It feels very odd to me that you and your company would consider hiring someone with Mr. Lasseter’s pattern of misconduct given the present climate in which people with the kind of power that you have can reasonably be expected to step up to the plate,” she writes.“I realise that the situation — involving as it does many human beings — is complicated. However these are the questions I would like to ask.”
What follows is a list of specific areas for scrutiny, as Emma asks: ”If a man has been touching women inappropriately for decades, why would a woman want to work for him if the only reason he’s not touching them inappropriately now is that it says in his contract that he must behave ‘professionally’?”
“If a man has made women at his companies feel undervalued and disrespected for decades, why should the women at his new company think that any respect he shows them is anything other than an act that he’s required to perform by his coach, his therapist and his employment agreement?”
“Much has been said about giving John Lasseter a ‘second chance’,” the actress adds. “But he is presumably being paid millions of dollars to receive that second chance. How much money are the employees at Skydance being paid to GIVE him that second chance?”
Citing Skydance employees’ discomfort at his appointment, she reasons: “If John Lasseter started his own company, then every employee would have been given the opportunity to choose whether or not to give him a second chance.
“But any Skydance employees who don’t want to give him a second chance have to stay and be uncomfortable or lose their jobs. Shouldn’t it be John Lasseter who has to lose HIS job if the employees don’t want to give him a second chance?”
HuffPost UK has approached Lasseter’s lawyer for comment.
Emma has been a vocal supporter of the Time’s Up movement, speaking out frequently to condemn the men in Hollywood who have been the subject of sexual assault and rape allegations.
Just days after the first report on Harvey Weinstein was published in 2017, the Love Actually star appeared on Newsnight, where she said the film producer was “at the top of the ladder of a system of harassment and belittling and bullying and interference and what my mother would have referred to in the olden days as ‘pestering’”.
“That’s the word we used to use in the olden days, if you recall,” she added. “This has been part of our world, women’s world, since time immemorial.”
When the first accusations against him were made public, Weinstein apologised for behaving in a way that had “caused a lot of pain”.
Over 80 women have since come forward to accuse him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. He has denied all allegations of rape.
Emma has also spoken out about gender inequality in the entertainment industry, stating last year that she has “always” been paid less than her male counterparts.