Emma Thompson quits film with scathing public letter about why she won’t work with John Lasseter

Emma Thompson reveals why she quit her latest film, refusing to work with a film executive accused of sexual misconduct.

Tompson said John Lasseter was presumably “being paid millions of dollars” for a “second chance” while employees who felt uncomfortable about his presence would have to quit. Picture: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Dame Emma Thompson has lambasted an animation studio she was due to work with for giving a “second chance” to a film executive accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

The Oscar-winning actress, 59, who pulled out of the film Luck, said that John Lasseter was presumably “being paid millions of dollars” for that second chance while employees who felt uncomfortable about his presence would have to quit.

Lasseter, 62, a co-founder of Pixar and director of the first two Toy Story films, was forced out of the Disney-owned company in 2017 after a sexual harassment scandal. He admitted inappropriate hugging and “other missteps”.

He was hired by Skydance Media to become head of its animation division. The studio is producing Luck, a comedy to be directed by Alessandro Carloni which is due for release in 2021.

Yesterday Dame Emma released the letter that she sent to Skydance explaining her withdrawal last month from a voice acting role in the forthcoming film. She said that she was taking a stand to “protect my daughter’s generation”.

“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,” she wrote in the resignation letter, which was shared with the Los Angeles Times.

Referring to an email sent to Skydance employees by its chief executive, David Ellison, which said that Lasseter was contractually obliged to behave professionally, Dame Emma wrote: “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’?”

“Centuries of entitlement”

She added: “Shouldn’t it be John Lasseter who has to lose HIS job if the employees don’t want to give him a second chance?”

Dame Emma also wrote that “Skydance has revealed that no women received settlements from Pixar or Disney as a result of being harassed by John Lasseter.

“Are we supposed to feel comforted that women who feel that their careers were derailed by working for Lasseter DIDN’T receive any money?”

She added: “But I can only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising.

“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.”

Skydance declined to comment. Last month Mr Ellison described Lasseter as a “singular creative and executive talent whose impact on the animation industry cannot be overstated”. He described Lasseter’s past actions as “mistakes”.

— The Times