Lasseter Taking Sabbatical over "Missteps"

Yeah Disney hasn't said anything to anyone which is part of the problem. They need say they are at least investigating or something.

No, they don't...not if folks keep spending money hand over fist and giving them the benefit of the doubt...wouldn't be the 1st company to play the long game when it comes to press coverage and people's attention spans to make this go away with no action...

We say "Disney would never do that"...but they are doing it right now...
 
While it may not seem like a major chuck of an individual cable bill that adds up and makes for a lot of Disney's money. I truly hope Disney does something about this.

Personally I am not just going to quit everything Disney though.

Then just quit everything Pixar and Disney animation...a directed boycott will work as well as a full one, since if that part of the division tanks, Disney will change fast...
 
No, they don't...not if folks keep spending money hand over fist and giving them the benefit of the doubt...wouldn't be the 1st company to play the long game when it comes to press coverage and people's attention spans to make this go away with no action...

We say "Disney would never do that"...but they are doing it right now...
Part of it is people just don't know about this. Its not all over the news like Weinstein, its not a common Hollywood figure to the average person either. To us as Disney fans we of course know him. The majority doesn't which I assume is part of why we haven't seen/heard much.
 
Then just quit everything Pixar and Disney animation...a directed boycott will work as well as a full one, since if that part of the division tanks, Disney will change fast...
You can do that then. I will not. People work hard on these films and they are not all like Lasseter.
 


You can do that then. I will not. People work hard on these films and they are not all like Lasseter.

Then nothing changes if there aren't more like me and less like you...b/c money talks and bs walks...and if the money keeps rolling in, Disney will have zero incentive to change b/c ultimately businesses are about the bottom line...
 
Then nothing changes if there aren't more like me and less like you...b/c money talks and bs walks...and if the money keeps rolling in, Disney will have zero incentive to change b/c ultimately businesses are about the bottom line...
I think it has to do with not really knowing who Lasseter. I went to Coco on Tuesday. My theater was nearly full.
 
Seriously, and people keep saying that they're afraid that we won't be allowed to hug one another anymore...really?? That's what you're concerned about? That's what you're taking away from this?

Enough time has passed...I need Disney to say something. NBC sent a message canning Matt Lauer (unfortunate that it took as long as it did since what he did was such an open secret for so long - and yes I realize that Lasseter's alleged transgressions and Lauer's alleged transgressions are not the same) that this sort of behavior is not acceptable, no matter how visible or powerful you are in a company. People are fond of pointing out that "Disney is a business" - yes they are, and they need to hold their most powerful and their most visible to the same standards that other businesses do, and I think it would send a similarly powerful message if they did.

Exactly - NBC got an official complaint about Lauer and obviously a heads-up on the story that Variety was about to publish regarding Lauer's decades of harassment and assault and made a swift move to get out in front of it and fire him. Also, I'm not Pollyana enough to believe that clearing his bloated $25mm/year salary off the books wasn't a small deciding factor in this age of fiscal streamlining in the media, but NBC knew they needed to do something and they did it.

Disney has just been SO passive about this that they have given me no reason to believe they aren't covering up something - Lasseter or Pixar or SOMEONE obviously got a heads-up that Hollywood Reporter or Deadline was about to run with a story about his behavior and complaints from women that work for him and he tried to get ahead of it by begging for forgiveness and taking what, by all accounts, appears to be a fully paid "sabbatical" from his job. We should all BE so lucky to be able to have this option! :sad2: Even if it's just lip service (which I believe it almost always is), a simple statement of "we're disturbed by Mr. Lasseter's actions and will launch an internal ethics investigation into conduct" or whatever goes a long way ... at bare minimum, it at least affords Disney and Pixar an opportunity to acknowledge that there is/was a problem! But nope, short of "fully supporting" his sabbatical, Disney has gone total radio silence. Just gross.

It's not just Lasseter's "hugs" or that he would get White Girl Wasted at industry events and act inappropriately handsy ... it's the toxic culture that was created and fostered at Pixar - the culture that allowed for years of this behavior to continue towards women without repercussion, and the continued culture that is allowing it to be swept under the rug because "Good Boy" Lasseter got out in front of the whole thing and decided to go hide on a six-month paid vacation before the whole thing really blew up in their face.
 


Part of it is people just don't know about this. Its not all over the news like Weinstein, its not a common Hollywood figure to the average person either. To us as Disney fans we of course know him. The majority doesn't which I assume is part of why we haven't seen/heard much.
Last night I googled both Lasseter and Pixar. Both the top two stories were from vanity fair/Hollywood reporter and the rest, Coco’s (well deserved) praise for Pixar and the initial reports of the sabbatical for Lasseter. I just wanted to confirm that you were right: the ones making a big deal about it are the Disney fans. The general public is still in shock over Matt Lauer and that’s most of the focus. Everything here seems to be on the side, hence why I’m waiting for more evidence/stories/whatever
 
Exactly - NBC got an official complaint about Lauer and obviously a heads-up on the story that Variety was about to publish regarding Lauer's decades of harassment and assault and made a swift move to get out in front of it and fire him. Also, I'm not Pollyana enough to believe that clearing his bloated $25mm/year salary off the books wasn't a small deciding factor in this age of fiscal streamlining in the media, but NBC knew they needed to do something and they did it.

Disney has just been SO passive about this that they have given me no reason to believe they aren't covering up something - Lasseter or Pixar or SOMEONE obviously got a heads-up that Hollywood Reporter or Deadline was about to run with a story about his behavior and complaints from women that work for him and he tried to get ahead of it by begging for forgiveness and taking what, by all accounts, appears to be a fully paid "sabbatical" from his job. We should all BE so lucky to be able to have this option! :sad2: Even if it's just lip service (which I believe it almost always is), a simple statement of "we're disturbed by Mr. Lasseter's actions and will launch an internal ethics investigation into conduct" or whatever goes a long way ... at bare minimum, it at least affords Disney and Pixar an opportunity to acknowledge that there is/was a problem! But nope, short of "fully supporting" his sabbatical, Disney has gone total radio silence. Just gross.

It's not just Lasseter's "hugs" or that he would get White Girl Wasted at industry events and act inappropriately handsy ... it's the toxic culture that was created and fostered at Pixar - the culture that allowed for years of this behavior to continue towards women without repercussion, and the continued culture that is allowing it to be swept under the rug because "Good Boy" Lasseter got out in front of the whole thing and decided to go hide on a six-month paid vacation before the whole thing really blew up in their face.

I too am bothered by the radio silence. I understand these things sometimes have to work out properly from a legal standpoint (we don't even know if an official complaint has been filed or not) but I agree some sort of statement would be good to know they aren't just hoping it goes away. They probably would have to amend yours a bit just legally and say something like "we're disturbed by these allegations involving Mr. Lasseter's that have surfaced ..... "

I also very much agree about the culture that apparently was there - now there are a lot of positives to Pixar that get praise - how it made working their fun and the process was open for creativity ... but obviously a lot of negatives too (both that these types of actions were accommodated but also lack of diversity that was given an opportunity/support) and that needs to be address and I would hope Disney would mention that in any statement as well " .... and will launch an internal investigation into both Mr. Lasseter's conduct and also the internal culture and accountability system that may have enabled and wrongdoing"
 
Disney has just been SO passive about this that they have given me no reason to believe they aren't covering up something - Lasseter or Pixar or SOMEONE obviously got a heads-up that Hollywood Reporter or Deadline was about to run with a story about his behavior and complaints from women that work for him and he tried to get ahead of it by begging for forgiveness and taking what, by all accounts, appears to be a fully paid "sabbatical" from his job. We should all BE so lucky to be able to have this option! :sad2: Even if it's just lip service (which I believe it almost always is), a simple statement of "we're disturbed by Mr. Lasseter's actions and will launch an internal ethics investigation into conduct" or whatever goes a long way ... at bare minimum, it at least affords Disney and Pixar an opportunity to acknowledge that there is/was a problem! But nope, short of "fully supporting" his sabbatical, Disney has gone total radio silence. Just gross.

Sine we don't know what's going on behind the scenes, we may not hear anything and that may not even be Disney's fault. Lasseter may have his own team of lawyers arbitrating/negotiating the terms of his departure. While this is going on Disney may not be able to say anything at all. They had to have some pretty strong testimony on Lauer to be able to terminate him that fast. I think Lasseter will eventually step down (whether voluntarily or forced) but he won't be fired. Once the lawyers get involved it all becomes about negotiating the departure.

As has been mentioned, most people don't even know who Lasseter is so Disney bought themselves some time with that. The only thing that would shock me is if they decided to keep Lasseter around.
 
Sine we don't know what's going on behind the scenes, we may not hear anything and that may not even be Disney's fault. Lasseter may have his own team of lawyers arbitrating/negotiating the terms of his departure. While this is going on Disney may not be able to say anything at all. They had to have some pretty strong testimony on Lauer to be able to terminate him that fast. I think Lasseter will eventually step down (whether voluntarily or forced) but he won't be fired. Once the lawyers get involved it all becomes about negotiating the departure.

As has been mentioned, most people don't even know who Lasseter is so Disney bought themselves some time with that. The only thing that would shock me is if they decided to keep Lasseter around.


This is a very good point. If there are ongoing legal discussions it is likely it can't be talked about by the parties concerned. That being said, if Disney really does have something on Lassiter that is a legit complaint, then I'm guessing they don't need to be negotiating anything and he could be terminated. If they have no official and documented complaints, it's a different issue and they may have to negotiate and pay him to go away. I know we like to think, as the public, we are entitled to all the information available, but that is rarely the case. I'm willing to be patient and see how this is handled and I hope it's not just stalling for time.
 
...a simple statement of "we're disturbed by Mr. Lasseter's actions and will launch an internal ethics investigation into conduct" or whatever goes a long way ... at bare minimum, it at least affords Disney and Pixar an opportunity to acknowledge that there is/was a problem! But nope, short of "fully supporting" his sabbatical, Disney has gone total radio silence. Just gross.
Seriously...as someone who
1.) has given Disney a lot of money,
2.) is a woman,
3.) is, heck, a HUMAN BEING,
4.) has been harassed in the workplace (EDIT: Not in my current workplace, thankfully!), while walking into work, while running outside around my town, etc.,

...I want to hear *something* from them. It's difficult because I love Disney and I love Pixar, and I want to believe that this stuff cannot happen there or that Disney/Pixar is different but why should they be held to a different standard?

They could even say "legally we cannot comment at this time." FINE. I just want to know that something is changing/being done.
 
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Sine we don't know what's going on behind the scenes, we may not hear anything and that may not even be Disney's fault. Lasseter may have his own team of lawyers arbitrating/negotiating the terms of his departure. While this is going on Disney may not be able to say anything at all. They had to have some pretty strong testimony on Lauer to be able to terminate him that fast. I think Lasseter will eventually step down (whether voluntarily or forced) but he won't be fired. Once the lawyers get involved it all becomes about negotiating the departure.

As has been mentioned, most people don't even know who Lasseter is so Disney bought themselves some time with that. The only thing that would shock me is if they decided to keep Lasseter around.
Realistically they’ll probably ask him to step down after an investigation or if the media decides to focus on this. He’ll only get fired if he literally murders someone or (God forbid considering how shocking the “fairies” were to me I hope this isn’t going to come true) something extremely worse misconduct wise arises a la Weinstein.

You’re also probably right about the lawyers knowing Disney’s legal system
 
Seriously...as someone who
1.) has given Disney a lot of money,
2.) is a woman,
3.) is, heck, a HUMAN BEING,
4.) has been harassed in the workplace, while walking into work, while running outside around my town, etc.,

...I want to hear *something* from them. It's difficult because I love Disney and I love Pixar, and I want to believe that this stuff cannot happen there or that Disney/Pixar is different but why should they be held to a different standard?

They could even say "legally we cannot comment at this time." FINE. I just want to know that something is changing/being done.

Exactly. 100 percent.
 
Last night I googled both Lasseter and Pixar. Both the top two stories were from vanity fair/Hollywood reporter and the rest, Coco’s (well deserved) praise for Pixar and the initial reports of the sabbatical for Lasseter. I just wanted to confirm that you were right: the ones making a big deal about it are the Disney fans. The general public is still in shock over Matt Lauer and that’s most of the focus. Everything here seems to be on the side, hence why I’m waiting for more evidence/stories/whatever
People like Matt Lauer are on TV everyday or politicians are well known to at least who they represent. John Lasseter is really only known to the Disney/animation fan which is a smaller amount of people.
 
That being said, if Disney really does have something on Lassiter that is a legit complaint, then I'm guessing they don't need to be negotiating anything and he could be terminated. If they have no official and documented complaints, it's a different issue and they may have to negotiate and pay him to go away.

Yep, that may be key.
 
I simply have to believe the reason we are not hearing anything, anything significant, is Disney is as a general finding out how much issue they have.

First was there or is there a formal complaint?
If so, how much was known prior to complaint filed, and what was buried?
Spirit and others have implied that all the way up to Iger knew, and they used money to buy off complaints and fix things. Granted, I am not a huge believer in Spirit on things like this.

but if any or all is true above, then this goes to the top, and that is a HUGE issue for Disney. If there is any proof they settled cases or complaints with no further action against the perpetrator in this environment - especially after Lauer and Co. issues......

Iger is dead meat.

I have to assume one of two things will happen quickly - a full report will be given out, or we will suddenly see key officers "retire" or leave for personal interests....and that means they settled things again.
 
Part of it is people just don't know about this. Its not all over the news like Weinstein, its not a common Hollywood figure to the average person either. To us as Disney fans we of course know him. The majority doesn't which I assume is part of why we haven't seen/heard much.
I do think that's a good part of it. I will say that if I hadn't been on these boards, I would never have known that this happened. I have heard/seen absolutely nothing about this on any other platform that I use or watch. I mentioned it to my parents the other day, they have never heard of him before and haven't seen anything about this story anywhere either.

But, I'm definitely not changing my current plans of seeing Coco this weekend and my big trip in January over this (well tbh, Dopey was $$$$)
 
I've been reading the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson and just got to the part where Jobs sold Pixar to Disney.

I guess the "The Love Lounge" at the Pixar building in San Fran wasn't a great idea. doh...
 
I'm sorry that happened to you but I think you're severely diminishing the situation and what the victims went through. This wasn't simply about hugging and just because hugging happens at workplaces doesn't mean that it's appropriate or that everyone involved is comfortable with it.

I work at a hospital too and I definitely don't want any of my coworkers hugging me, ESPECIALLY not coworkers who are my superiors.

Thank you for your kind words. I'm over it from a personal standpoint, but thought it was worth sharing to point out that rumors and gossip get out of control and people can be unfairly accused based on exaggerated stories. It certainly isn't my intention to diminish a true victim's situation or feelings, and I shared this information before the Deadline article was released. My other point was in agreement with previous posters, that every work place has its own culture and accepted behaviors. I, too, am curious what the culture is like at Pixar specifically the building where Lasseter's office is located.

Referencing the Deadline article, the information regarding the "fairies" is most concerning to me. I agree with PuppyJonathan about the overall "tameness" of accusations against Lasseter up to this point. That article sure paints a convincing picture that he can at the very least be a first-class jerk. (I didn't want to test the censor on the boards- can we curse??! Because "jerk" isn't really the word I wanted to use.) However, I think it is misleading to include the gossip about anyone kissing passionately at a party, I don't care how many people witnessed it.

At this point, especially after reading the Deadline article, I too am waiting for more information. I hope that's the worst of it, and it's enough for some action to be taken. I don't think he will be fired. As Ryan and others pointed out, Lasseter doesn't have the same name-recognition that others currently in the headlines do, and again the information we have so far is very "tame" compared to Lauer's secretly locking door or Weinstein's trafficking ring. BUT there are enough people out there that hate Disney and would love to use this situation to drag Disney, Pixar, Iger and anyone else through the mud.

The whole situation is depressing. I'm so sad to know that John Lasseter has a problem with alcohol. I hate to know that he can be a "jerk."
 

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