Emma Thompson revealed that she quit an animated project as the company making it hired John Lasseter.
The US animator was recruited to head Skydance Animation after his departure from Pixar, amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
In a letter published by the Los Angeles Times, Thompson said it felt “very odd” that the studio would “consider hiring someone with Mr. Lasseter’s pattern of misconduct.”
She had been due to voice a character in the animated project, Luck, a comedy about how luck affects our day-to-day lives.
She officially withdrew from the project a few weeks after Lasseter’s hiring was announced in mid-January.
Her letter continued:
“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?
“The message seems to be, ‘I am learning to feel respect for women so please be patient while I work on it. It’s not easy.'”
Towards the end of the letter, Thompson said that while she regrets having to step away from the project, she can “only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising.”
She said:
“I am well aware that centuries of entitlement to women’s bodies whether they like it or not is not going to change overnight. Or in a year.
“But I am also aware that if people who have spoken out — like me — do not take this sort of a stand then things are very unlikely to change at anything like the pace required to protect my daughter’s generation.”
Melissa Silverstein, the founder of Women in Hollywood (which campaigns for gender equality and inclusion), praised Thompson for the letter.
I don't think I am overstating this, but this letter from Emma Thompson on her departure from Luck is one the most significant moments in this movement. pic.twitter.com/RXkr7FXOkL
— Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) February 26, 2019
"This is more than an open letter — Thompson has issued a rallying cry."
"We hope others with power and privilege will join Thompson in speaking out about abuses of power and those who enable that toxic behavior." https://t.co/weQPhWssyY— Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) February 26, 2019
She called it a “rallying cry” to others and “one of the most significant moments in this [#MeToo] movement.”
