Scarlett Johansson‘s lawyer, John Berlinski, hit back at the Walt Disney Company after it filed to move the ongoing Black Widow lawsuit behind closed doors, calling the move predictable and the company’s initial response as “misogynistic.”
“After initially responding to this litigation with a misogynistic attack against Scarlett Johansson, Disney is now, predictably, trying to hide its misconduct in a confidential arbitration,” the Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP attorney said, adding, “Why is Disney so afraid of litigating this case in public?”
“Because it knows that Marvel’s promises to give Black Widow a typical theatrical release ‘like its other films’ had everything to do with guaranteeing that Disney wouldn’t cannibalize box office receipts in order to boost Disney+ subscriptions,” Berlinski continued. “Yet that is exactly what happened – and we look forward to presenting the overwhelming evidence that proves it.”
According to Deadline, the House of Mouse filed to move the lawsuit to arbitration in New York. “Periwinkle agreed that all claims ‘arising out of, in connection with, or relating to’ Scarlett Johansson’s acting services for Black Widow would be submitted to confidential, binding arbitration in New York,” the motion, filed by Disney’s lawyers Daniel Petrocelli, Leah Godesky and Tim Heafner of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, read.
“Whether Periwinkle’s claims against Disney fall within the scope of that agreement is not a close call: Periwinkle’s interference and inducement claims are premised on Periwinkle’s allegation that Marvel breached the contract’s requirement that any release of Black Widow include a ‘wide theatrical release’ on ‘no less than 1,500 screens,” it continued. “The plain and expansive language of the arbitration agreement easily encompasses Periwinkle’s Complaint.”
“In a futile effort to evade this unavoidable result (and generate publicity through a public filing), Periwinkle excluded Marvel as a party to this lawsuit––substituting instead its parent company Disney under contract-interference theories,” the legal team added. “But longstanding principles do not permit such gamesmanship.”
Johansson’s lawsuit claims her contract with Disney’s Marvel Entertainment promised an exclusive theatrical release, and that her salary was largely based on the film’s performance at the box office. She argues that her contract was breached when the company released Black Widow on its streaming platform Disney+ at the same time it was released in theaters.
Elsewhere in entertainment, Star Wars finally explained how Palpatine survived the ending of Return of the Jedi.
