Emma Thompson Wrote a Powerful Letter About Quitting a Movie Because of an Alleged Sexual Harasser

Abby Gardner
"If a man has been touching women inappropriately for decades," she writes, "why would a woman want to work for him?"

Update, February 26: The Los Angeles Times has published Emma Thompson's letter to Skydance Animation explaining why she felt she could no longer be a part of the Luck project. She makes it clear that her decision was based on head of animation John Lasseter's hiring, while recognizing that the situation is complicated given how many other people are involved. "It feels very odd to me that you and your company would consider hiring someone with Mr. Lasseter’s pattern of misconduct given the present climate in which people with the kind of power that you have can reasonably be expected to step up to the plate," she wrote.

Thompson then goes on to outline questions she has about Lasseter's involvement, including, "If a man has been touching women inappropriately for decades, why would a woman want to work for him if the only reason he’s not touching them inappropriately now is that it says in his contract that he must behave 'professionally'?"

She continues, "Much has been said about giving John Lasseter a 'second chance.' But he is presumably being paid millions of dollars to receive that second chance. How much money are the employees at Skydance being paid to GIVE him that second chance?"

"Skydance has revealed that no women received settlements from Pixar or Disney as a result of being harassed by John Lasseter," she writes. "But given all the abuse that’s been heaped on women who have come forward to make accusations against powerful men, do we really think that no settlements means that there was no harassment or no hostile work environment? Are we supposed to feel comforted that women who feel that their careers were derailed by working for Lasseter DIDN’T receive money?

"I hope these queries make the level of my discomfort understandable. I regret having to step away because I love Alessandro so much and think he is an incredibly creative director. But I can only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising," she concludes. "I am well aware that centuries of entitlement to women’s bodies whether they like it or not is not going to change overnight. Or in a year. But I am also aware that if people who have spoken out—like me—do not take this sort of a stand, then things are very unlikely to change at anything like the pace required to protect my daughter’s generation."

Original post: Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke in the fall of 2017, a steady stream of powerful (and often famous) men have been accused of sexual misconduct. But the era of #MeToo has also seen a cycle of redemption and comebacks for some of these accused men. Louis C.K. is back doing stand-up. Ousted CBS chief Les Moonves is already working on a new venture. Brett Kavanaugh is sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now Emma Thompson has reportedly quit an upcoming film project over the hiring of one such man: John Lasseter, the former chief creative officer of Pixar. Allegations about Lasseter first became public knowledge in November 2017, though claims of a "whisper network" surrounding him existed for much longer, after he was accused of "grabbing, kissing, making comments about physical attributes."

Lasseter apologized for his behavior, saying, "I've recently had a number of difficult conversations that have been very painful for me. It’s never easy to face your missteps, but it’s the only way to learn from them." Then, this January, he was hired as the head of Skydance Animation, which is set to produce the film Luck.

That's where Emma Thompson comes in. The actress was slated to voice one of the characters, but Variety confirms that she dropped out of the project after Lasseter's hiring. Skydance has not commented on the departure.

She may not have released a big statement about this decision, but it's major that a Hollywood A-lister of Thompson's caliber is walking away from what is likely a lucrative deal in response to the hiring of a man with sexual harassment allegations. This is one powerful way allies in positions of influence can show support for the survivors who have been brave enough to speak out about inappropriate behavior.

We hope to see more of that in 2019.