Disney has been dealing with negotiation controversies since 1941. That year, animators who had worked on its 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves went on a strike. The studio hadn't given them their profit shares. The strike went on for nine weeks until the company decided to settle. The scandal put a strain on the relationship of Walt Disney and his brother and business partner Roy. In the next years, their top animators started leaving the studio as well. Similar stories of compensation issues would plague the studio in the next decades. For instance, here are 3 recent cases where Disney bullied actors into accepting low offers.
Hilary Duff Left Disney After They 'Bullied' Her During 'Lizzie McGuire' Deal
The Lizzie McGuire Movie was meant to be a franchise. However, Hilary Duff's mother, Susan felt that Disney shortchanged her daughter. "Disney thought they’d be able to bully us into accepting whatever offer they wanted to make, and they couldn’t," Susan told Entertainment Weekly in 2003. "We walked away from a sequel. They walked away from a franchise... We weren’t feeling the love. They weren’t giving Hilary the respect she deserved." Disney withdrew the second movie deal when Susan insisted on claiming the $500,000 bonus promised by the studio after the first film reached $50 million. But the bullying didn't end there.
"Disney kept leaking stuff and using undisclosed sources," Susan said of Disney's press statements against her and Hilary. "And because we didn’t say anything, it sounded like it was true. I thought it would run its course, but they kept coming at us. In my wildest dreams, I cannot imagine adults beating up on a 15-year-old kid in the papers like they have." Hilary didn't weigh in on the matter, but she did express her confidence in her parents' decisions. She released a statement, saying: "I am very supportive of my mom and dad’s involvement in my career and appreciate the guidance of my management team."
In 2019, Hilary revealed that she was reprising her role as Lizzie McGuire in a Disney Plus reboot. However, she took to Instagram in December 2020 to announce that the series was canceled. "I've been so honored to have the character of Lizzie in my life," the actress wrote. "She has made such a lasting impact on many, including myself. To see the fans' loyalty and love for her, to this day, means so much to me. I know the efforts and conversations have been everywhere trying to make a reboot work but, sadly & despite everyone's best efforts, it isn't going to happen. I want any reboot of Lizzie to be honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today. It's what the character deserves."
Disney 'Gender-Shamed' Scarlett Johansson During Lawsuit Over 'Black Widow'
In July 2021, Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for breaching her contract in her standalone Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Black Widow. The actress said that Disney had promised her an exclusive theatrical release. However, the studio also released it on Disney+, charging merely $30 per rental. The studio earned $60 million from the streaming platform during the opening weekend and just $350 million in theatrical ticket sales across the globe, one of the poor-grossing Marvel movies to date. According to Scarlett's legal documents, her estimated losses are worth around $50 million. After some "gender-shaming," Disney eventually settled.
In response to Scarlett's lawsuit, Disney initially referred to the actress' claims as a "callous disregard" for Covid-19 safety in theaters. Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) president Gabrielle Carteris called out the studio for "gender-shaming" the Don Jon star. "Actors must be compensated for their work according to their contracts,” she said in a statement. "Women are not ‘callous’ when they stand up and fight for fair pay – they are leaders and champions for economic justice."
In October 2021, Scarlett announced that she'd already settled with Disney. "I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney," said the actress. "I look forward to continuing our collaboration." Her camp didn't disclose the amount of compensation she received for the breach.
Disney Lowballed Marvel Star Hugo Weaving In A Multi-Picture Deal
The Matrix star Hugo Weaving initially played Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. But in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, he was replaced by The Walking Dead actor, Ross Marquand. As it turned out, Weaving wanted to reprise his role in both Infinity War and Endgame. However, Disney lowballed him. "I loved playing that character Red Skull – it was a lot of fun," he told Time Out. "We were all obliged to sign up for three pictures... By then, they’d pushed back on the contracts that we agreed on and so the money they offered me for The Avengers was much less than I got for the very first one, and this was for two films."
He said that negotiating with Marvel became such a hassle that he just gave up on fighting for the role. "And the promise when we first signed the contracts was that the money would grow each time," he continued. "They said: 'It’s just a voice job, it’s not a big deal.' I actually found negotiating with them through my agent impossible. And I didn’t really wanna do it that much. But I would have done it."