Following the news that Scarlett Johansson would sue Disney for breach of contract, and the studio's subsequent response denying the charges, talent agent Bryan Lourd issued a statement lambasting Disney for revealing the actress' salary for the movie.
"Disney’s direct attack on her character and all else they implied is beneath the company that many of us in the creative community have worked with successfully for decades", Lourd, who is a co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency, stated. "This suit was filed as a result of Disney’s decision to knowingly violate Scarlett’s contract."
According to Lourd, Disney's move to disclose how much Johansson made out of the Black Widow movie is "an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman."
In its response to Johansson's lawsuit, Disney dropped numbers saying that the actress received $20 million, while also asserting that she was "disregarding" the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The global COVID outbreak was the reason for the long-awaited Black Widow movie experiencing drama in the studio before its release, with dates postponed several times. In summer 2021, when the movie was finally released, it hit theaters and Disney+ streaming service simultaneously - which is exactly what Johansson and her legal team claim is the essential legal breach.
In a lawsuit filed to the Los Angeles Superior Court, her lawyers argued that Disney made the move to intentionally scrap any potential bonus the actress could have received should the box office take not have been depressed because the movie was made available online at the same time.
Disney denied any violation of the contract and suggested that the dual release did not prevent Johansson from earning "additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date".