The back and forth between Marvel and one of its biggest stars is already getting ugly, as Scarlett Johansson accused the company of a “misogynistic attack” amid their conflict over the release of Black Widow.
On Saturday, Disney’s legal team called Johansson’s lawsuit “gamesmanship” as the first move in what could be a protracted legal battle. And that statement was enough to have the MCU star fire back later in the day.
As Deadline detailed, Johansson issued a new statement on Saturday that slammed the company’s opening statement and dismissed it as an attempt to “hide its misconduct in a confidential arbitration.”
“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,” said the Oscar nominee’s main lawyer John Berlinski today after the House of Mouse’s response to Johansson’s scathing profits lawsuit went public.
“Why is Disney so afraid of litigating this case in public?,” added the Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP attorney in what has become a Cuban Missile Crisis level war of words.
The attorney laid out Johansson’s case: that Disney’s release of the movie on Disney+ simultaneously with its theatrical window led to its disappointing box office showing in an effort to “boost Disney+ subscriptions.” The initial report on Saturday indicated that Disney wants to settle things outside of court, but this public back-and-forth is certainly indicating that things behind the scenes are not going as well as either side would like.
