About

The Scarlett Johansson Disney+ Controversy, or Scarlett Johansson vs. Disney, refers to a lawsuit and public debate centered around the payment actress Scarlett Johansson received for her role in Marvel’s Black Widow. In July 2021, Johansson claimed her payment was not as much as promised by her contract due to the streaming royalties Disney was not required to pay her. Following the lawsuit, the controversy became the subject of memes both within and outside of the Marvel fandom.

History

In July 2021, Scarlett Johansson, star of the Marvel movie Black Widow, confronted Disney for breaking their deal when she was not paid what she believed to be promised. While she signed a contract that relied on box-office profits for her payment, the company released the movie on Disney+ as well as in theaters, allegedly violating the terms of the agreement. Johansson then filed for a lawsuit (video seen below) and faced backlash for taking on the company during the pandemic from some, while others agreed with her side on the matter.

Controversy

Disney disregarded Johannson’s claims, implying her insistence on a theatrical release was disrespectful during the pandemic. This became a subject of widespread debate online in late July and early August 2021, slightly detracting from what some perceived as the real purpose of Johannson’s accusations, which was to expose the lack of fair treatment and pay she received. Disney also pointed out that Johansson had earned over $20 million from them to date with her role in the MCU. In a statement, a representative of the Disney company said the following:^[2]

There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under Johansson’s original contract, a legal doctrine of impossibility prevents Disney from payment liability if the movie could not be shown in theaters, however, with social distancing restrictions being lifted in much of the world around the time of the film's release, this "impossibility" is not believed to be present.^[3] Advocates for Johansson argue that the pandemic is not the topic of discussion the actress means to address, but is rather an excuse for Disney to find a loophole that allows for them to make millions more from streaming profits that they wouldn’t be required to share with Johansson. Rumors have spread suggesting Johansson is now blacklisted from upcoming Disney projects over the controversy.

Online Reactions

After the news of Johansson’s claim hit the internet on July 29th, 2021, memes began to spread about the controversy. This meme from Reddit's /r/marvelmemes^[4] is the earliest known, posted on July 30th, 2021. Uploaded by u/MrMostDaysOff, it received 193 upvotes and seven comments in roughly two weeks (seen below).

The most popular meme referring to the lawsuit is a post by u/amchampion27. Also uploaded to /r/marvelmemes^[5] on August 2nd, 2021, it received over 30,600 upvotes and 405 comments in roughly 10 days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References