
Hollywood Star Scarlett Johansson in her lawsuit against Disney reminded us that the culture of the organization doesn’t necessarily always align with the values of its leadership. When that occurs, leadership loses and the culture fails.
In this case, Disney will lose the public opinion battle before the legal battle actually begins.
Imagine the powerful presence of the charming Johansson when her attorneys tell the court, thus us in the court of public opinion that Disney with its “mission to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe” allegedly breached its contractual obligation to the star and talent when it released its film, Black Widow.
But, how?
Allegedly, within the contract of the film, the amount of money earned by the Star, other talent and crew members depended on the total amount earned at the “theatrical release” Box Office.
Disney along its release of Black Widow to theaters, it also streamed it to its Disney+ digital subscribers with a premium fee. Such move limited the earning potential of Johansson and others according to the lawsuit.
What we know for sure is that Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek, and its Chairman, Bob Iger aren’t “happy” of how this move was miscalculated.
Moral of the story: avoid black widows, especially, the ones with a charming, ruthless with a smile. My prediction if this challenge is not handled properly and settled swiftly, the leadership ‘good run’ of Chapek will come to an end. It will definitely dent the almost perfect image of Iger’s problem solving skills and the culture he and others have worked so hard to project and protect.

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