Scarlett Johansson’s animosity towards Disney went out with its former CEO.
Johansson infamously filed a lawsuit against the conglomerate for the day-and-date streaming release of standalone Marvel film “Black Widow” in 2021. Lead star Johansson’s contract for the film included that the feature be released exclusively in theaters with backend compensation in addition to her $20 million salary.
As Disney alleged Johansson had a “callous disregard” for the COVID-19 pandemic amid a theatrical release, Johansson’s lawyer John Berlinski claimed it was a “misogynistic attack” against the actress with further arbitration. Johansson settled the lawsuit.
Bob Chapek was formerly the controversial CEO of Disney. Upon his exit, the company reinstated past CEO Bob Iger.
Now, Johansson is confirming she does not have a “grudge” against the Marvel parent company.
“I don’t hold a grudge,” Johansson told The New York Times. “I think it was just poor judgment and poor leadership at that time. It just felt very unprofessional to me, the entire ordeal. And honestly, I was incredibly disappointed, especially because I was holding out hope until, finally, my team was like, ‘You have to act.'”
Johansson also is taking legal action against OpenAI after the company allegedly modeled a voice after the actress. Johansson said that she “actively avoided being a part of the [AI] conversation,” which only made the OpenAI case “so disturbing.”
“I was like, ‘How did I get wrapped up in this?’ It was crazy. I was so angry,” she said.
The New York Times even asked if OpenAI CEO Sam Altman would make a good Marvel villain, to which she said, “I guess he would – maybe with a robotic arm.”
Johansson said in a statement shared with IndieWire that Altman contacted her agents two days before the release of ChatGPT 4.0 asking her to reconsider letting the service use her voice. The demo featuring the allegedly Johansson-inspired Sky voice was launched soon thereafter.
Altman claimed that the voice was “never intended to resemble” Johansson’s.
“Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products,” he said. “We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn’t communicate better.”
