News John Lasseter takes leave of absence from Pixar and Disney amid "missteps"

[The Nth Doctor]

Link to The Hollywood Reporter news story.

I'm still trying to process this news because I greatly admire John Lasseter's decades-long work with Pixar and what he has done with Disney since he took over their creative department.

The press statement from Lasseter doesn't make clear what exactly he did nor the extent of what he did, but the statement did come out ahead of an article from The Hollywood Reporter (which can be read immediately after the statement).

I'm not discounting the situation or the possible claims, but the one thing that bothers me about The Hollywood Reporter article is that all of its claims come from unnamed sources. It does specifically state one person who received unwanted advances (Rashida Jones, co-writer of Toy Story 4), but the article lacks verification from her or anyone representing her.

 

[Orac]

It's always sad when someone you've admired turns out to be a sex pest.

Fortunately dismissing this as fake news can make you feel better.

 

[Tosk]

It does specifically state one person who received unwanted advances (Rashida Jones, co-writer of Toy Story 4),

Which Jones has since refuted.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Which Jones has since refuted.

Which is relieving. But I'm still disappointed at Pixar at large considering the reasons why she (and Will McCormack) actually left Toy Story 4, an issue that has been around since at least Brave.

The supposed accusations (there's certainly something to them considering he took a leave of absence) against Lasseter aren't as bad as Charlie Rose or even Al Franken, but they are problematic. I do take assurances that Lasseter recognizes the problem and has taken time away from the company to deal with it.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I've become disappointed in many people I admired. I guess you never can know how awful someone can be.

 

[Harvey]

The supposed accusations (there's certainly something to them considering he took a leave of absence) against Lasseter aren't as bad as Charlie Rose or even Al Franken, but they are problematic.

The allegations against Lasseter are at least as bad as those made against Al Franken. In fact, I'd say they are worse, given the scope and duration being reported by The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets (for the record, I believe both men should resign based on their behavior).

Given that Lasseter not only took a leave of absence and apologized to his employees, but attempted to preempt these stories by doing so, there's no doubt in my mind that the allegations are true. Reporting these things anonymously seems to have been a prudent course of action, since, unlike Harvey Weinstein, Lasseter's career is not on the decline and he has not been fired.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The allegations against Lasseter are at least as bad as those made against Al Franken. In fact, I'd say they are worse, given the scope and duration being reported by The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets (for the record, I believe both men should resign based on their behavior).

Well, like I said in my original post, I'm not immediately believing everything The Hollywood Reporter says until either another source collaborates their story or someone goes on record. I don't doubt the allegations in general, but they've already gotten one part of story wrong and that was when they actually used a name for the record (regarding Rashida Jones). That puts the rest of their story into question.

That being said, there is clearly some wrongdoing going on here as proven by Lasseter's leave of absence. You're right that if these allegations are substantiated that what Lasseter is as bad as Franken and I stand corrected on that point. As I said, I'm still struggling with this news and I admit I'm trying to give excuses when I shouldn't be. The behavior is appalling and should be punished accordingly, when it's more clear what that behavior was.

 

[Harvey]

Well, like I said in my original post, I'm not immediately believing everything The Hollywood Reporter says until either another source collaborates their story or someone goes on record. I don't doubt the allegations in general, but they've already gotten one part of story wrong and that was when they actually used a name for the record (regarding Rashida Jones). That puts the rest of their story into question.

In addition to The Hollywood Reporter, there's Variety:

Few in animation are willing to cross him. “He is a beloved figure, so I’m scared to speak out,” said one of numerous former employees who spoke to Variety over the last several weeks, all of whom refused to be identified by name for fear of career repercussions. Many described the culture at Pixar as toxic for women. “It’s sexist and misogynistic,” said a former employee...

Another former employee told Variety that she was cautioned about Lasseter soon after she started work there, in the late 1990s.

“Just be warned, he likes to hug the pretty girls,” she said she was told. “He might try to kiss you on the mouth.”

There's also Vanity Fair:

According to interviews with more than 10 current and former Disney and Pixar employees, Lasseter often crossed boundaries with them, particularly when he had been drinking. One former male employee described traveling to a film festival with the executive and being asked to bring him to a strip club. “He’d get dances and point at me to pay for it,” the employee said. “I was supposed to entertain him. It was so uncomfortable. He liked to have a good time. He liked his wine.”

Female employees describe discomfort with Lasseter’s physical affection, which included close hugs, and kisses on the lips if a woman failed to turn her face in time. “After one of those hugs, we’d joke to each other, ‘Boxers or briefs?’” said one former Pixar employee. At a recording session, she described an encounter that led her to feel strange around her boss. “He leaned into my monitor and whispered into my ear, ‘You look so beautiful, that light in your eyes,’” the former Pixar employee said. “It was the way a lover would talk to you. I remember him touching my back or leg or knee and just feeling . . . ugh. And then we talked about the work.”

And there's the Los Angeles Times:

Six former female employees described in interviews with The Times a boys’ club culture at Pixar where women were often degraded, insulted for their looks and sometimes paid less than their male counterparts. Some women said they left because of the way women were treated there.

Lasseter is known for his big-kid personality and penchant for Hawaiian shirts and bear hugs. Two women told The Times that Lasseter’s hugs sometimes went too far, crossing the line into unwanted physical contact. They and others declined to reveal their identities, saying they had signed nondisclosure agreements and feared reprisals for speaking out.

These outlets have all done their own reporting on this story, and they aren't relying on one or two people to back them up. Vanity Fair's story had more than ten former and current Pixar employees as sources.

As I said, I'm still struggling with this news and I admit I'm trying to give excuses when I shouldn't be.

I totally understand; this is how I felt about Al Franken when the stories about him started to come out.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Ah, thank you for the additional sources. I've been rather out of the news cycle for the last few days, so I've missed these stories. That and I don't typically read those particular sources (although the L.A. Times really should be part of my regular diet), so I rely on seeing them from other sources (social media, A.V. Club, etc.). Seeing more independent reporting on this story does give the claims more merit. The Variety story is particularly damning.