Bob Chapek Takes Subtle Shot at Scarlett Johansson Amidst Lawsuit
The current Disney CEO took to the airwaves recently to discuss the Disney earnings call, and all that’s in the near future for the entertainment goliath; It was in this interview that Bob Chapek takes a subtle shot at Scarlett Johansson amidst the Black Widow lawsuit.
With the summer news being dominated by the legal action taken by veteran Marvel actress Scarlett Johansson and Walt Disney Studios, when Disney CEO appeared on CNBC, much of the conversation naturally shifted to discussing some of those issues.

Source: Variety.com
The lawsuit – which was born from the changing distribution models for Walt Disney Studios – addresses fair compensation for talent with the phasing out of box office performance; a major barometer in how an actor would be compensated.
For Marvel actors, and because the films always did so remarkably well in theaters, this model worked in their favor; it was the COVID-19 pandemic that forced Disney to rethink how they would distribute their films; without immediately factoring in how this change would impact the talent.

Source: bgr.com
As first reported by Deadline.com, Chapek began the conversation by stating that, “Distribution decisions are made on a film-by-film basis,” while also making it abundantly clear that the company, “needed to find alternative methods,” for distribution considering the state of theatres and modern audiences.
Chapek also took time to address the reported rifts between him and the company preceding CEO, Bob Iger; making it very clear that no such contention exists, while reinforcing the successful collaborative relationship the two continue to have

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Chapek stated, “Bob Iger and I, along with the distribution team, determined this was the right strategy to enable us to reach the broadest possible audience.”
Where things become a little uglier is when the Executive began speaking on fair compensation for performers; which leads to Bob Chapek taking a subtle shot at Scarlett Johansson.
Chapek noted that The Walt Disney Company will always make it a priority to do, “what we believe is in the best interest of the film and the best interest of our constituents.”
He continued with the following,
We’ve figured out ways to fairly compensate our talent and since COVID has begun we have entered into hundreds of talent arrangements with our talent and by and large they have gone very, very smoothly.

Source: CNBC.com
Two things can be gleaned from this statement; first, Chapek made it clear that Disney holds all the power in how they choose to distribute films, and they refuse to be beholden to anyone.
Second, Chapek has created the inference that Scarlett Johansson stands alone as an unhappy former employee; he reinforces the notion that she and her perceived mistreatment is an outlier to what has been very swift and fair negotiations for their other talent.
Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, and one can only hope for more answers as the legal proceedings begin to take shape.