Disney Calls Scarlett Johansson’s Lawsuit an “Orchestrated PR Campaign”
A lawyer for Disney is taking another shot at Scarlett Johansson over her Black Widow lawsuit, calling it “a highly orchestrated PR campaign.” As you likely known, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney late last month over the decision to put the MCU film on Disney+ for Premier Access alongside its theatrical release, alleging that the studio “intentionally induced” Marvel to breach her contract in order to prevent her “from realizing the full benefit of her bargain” by depressing ticket sales while still making money via Disney+.
That led to a widely-criticized statement from Disney that called the suit “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic” and publicizing that Johansson was paid $20 million for the film. Now, speaking with Variety, longtime Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli accused the lawsuit of an attempt to force additional money from Disney.
“It is obvious that this is a highly orchestrated PR campaign to achieve an outcome that is not obtainable in the lawsuit,” Petrocelli said. “No amount of public pressure can change or obscure the explicit contractual commitments. The written contract is clear as a bell.”
