On the heels of Pixar and Disney Animation chief John Lasseter taking a leave of absence for six months due to multiple accusations of inappropriate behavior towards female employees, details in a piece by The Hollywood Reporter are being refuted by Rashida Jones. The report claims that Jones and her writing partner Will McCormack left their writing duties on Toy Story 4 after unwanted advances by Lasseter, claims Jones is refuting.
In a statement, Jones is saying that she and McCormack left their positions over “philosophical differences” and didn’t believe women or people of color were given an equal voice. Part of her statement, first given to the New York Times then Variety, is below:
“We feel like we have been put in a position where we need to speak for ourselves. The break neck speed at which journalists have been naming the next perpetrator renders some reporting irresponsible and, in fact, counterproductive for the people who do want to tell their stories. In this instance, The Hollywood Reporter does not speak for us. We did not leave Pixar because of unwanted advances. That is untrue. That said, we are happy to see people speaking out about behavior that made them uncomfortable. As for us, we parted ways because of creative and, more importantly, philosophical differences.
There is so much talent at Pixar and we remain enormous fans of their films,” the statement went on. “But it is also a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice, as is demonstrated by their director demographics: out of the 20 films in the company’s history, only one was co-directed by a woman and only one was directed by a person of color. We encourage Pixar to be leaders in bolstering, hiring, and promoting more diverse and female storytellers and leaders. We hope we can encourage all those who have felt like their voices could not be heard in the past to feel empowered.”
In the time since the report surfaced, Pixar employees have detailed unwanted hugging and kissing by Lasseter, as well as a “misogynistic culture” at the company.
(Via Variety)