With Pixar co-founder John Lasseter being the latest Hollywood big name to have historic inappropriate behaviour unearthed, the eye of the media and the industry is turning to the reclusive and insular San Francisco-based animation studio, including more prominent names attached to projects there. One of those names, Rashida Jones, has today been forced to refute claims that she left a major project at the studio due to the behaviour of Lasseter.
Jones, along with writing partner Will McCormack, departed the upcoming Toy Story 4, for which they were penning the script.
When today’s story about Lasseter broke, The Hollywood Reporter cited “sources” at Pixar claiming that Jones left the project very early on after enduring an unwanted advance from Lasseter.
Jones and McCormack were subsequently forced to issue a statement – obtain by both the New York Times and Variety – that firstly denied those claims, but then eloquently and succinctly championed the voices of those who have been speaking up, stressing that incorrect and speculative reporting like the kind in the Reporter only serves to harm and diminish the voices of the victims.
Jones and McCormack also confirmed that their departure from Toy Story 4 was due largely to “philosophical differences.”
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 behaviour that made them uncomfortable. As for us, we parted ways because of creative and, more importantly, philosophical differences.
Jones and McCormack continued, calling out Pixar for their lack of representation of women and people of colour, pointing out that in their entire illustrious history, only one Pixar film has been directed by a POC, and one has been merely co-directed by a woman.
There is so much talent at Pixar and we remain enormous fans of their films. But it is also a culture where women and people of colour 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 colour. 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 a memo to staff, Lasseter stated that “it’s been brought to my attention that I have made some of you feel disrespected or uncomfortable,” and that he “especially [wanted] to apologize to anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an unwanted hug or any other gesture they felt crossed the line in any way, shape, or form.”
The studio chief executive announced a six-month leave of absence from the company.
