Despite It Being Awful Idea, Skydance Animation Hires John Lassetter

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Ever so slowly, like a bunch of shambling zombies, then men who were rightfully removed from their posts for being massive sex creeps are shambling back as if nothing happened, leaving a trail of people disgusted they would even show their face in their wake, like a zombie would leave a trail of slime. First we had Chris Hardwick basically bully his way back. Then we had Kevin Spacey’s creepy as all hell video where he denied all his allegations in character as Frank Underwood, then Louis CK came back with his alt right comedy set where the kids who survived the Parkland shooting were just grist for the mill for Louis’ awful comeback. And now John Lassetter returns to the world of animation after being hired by Skydance Animation to run the division.

Yeesh.

As you may or may not remember, John Lassetter was given the boot from Pixar and Disney, two companies he became practically synonymous with, after it was revealed that he has a near constant habit of inappropriately touching women, kissing them on the mouth without their consent and grabbing their bodies. This led to Pixar not promoting women in the company, and certain events — such as the firing of Brenda Chapman from her very personal movie, the Academy Award Winning Brave, speaks to a toxic culture of mysoginy embedded at Pixar, and of which John Lassetter, through his actions, was a key proponent of.

And people are NOT happy.

https://twitter.com/jakewyattriot/status/1083111851221606400

https://twitter.com/JesskaNightmare/status/1083089894098890752

https://twitter.com/kateleth/status/1083084387430756352

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Time’s Up released a statement on the matter:

Skydance CEO David Ellison said in a statement: “John is a singular creative and executive talent whose impact on the animation industry cannot be overstated… we did not enter into this decision lightly. John has acknowledged and apologized for his mistakes and, during the past year away from the workplace, has endeavored to address and reform them.”

John Lassetter additionally adressed his past of making women’s lives awful until he faced the slightest bit of consequence:

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“I have spent the last year away from the industry in deep reflection, learning how my actions unintentionally made colleagues uncomfortable, which I deeply regret and apologize for. It has been humbling, but I believe it will make me a better leader. I want nothing more than the opportunity to return to my creative and entrepreneurial roots, to build and invent again. I join Skydance with the same enthusiasm that drove me to help build Pixar, with a firm desire to tell original and diverse stories for audiences everywhere. With what I have learned and how I have grown in the past year, I am resolute in my commitment to build an animation studio upon a foundation of quality, safety, trust and mutual respect.”

You know, you can make cartoons without a cushy massive Hollywood job. And Skydance, you could have hired Brenda Chapman. Or any super talented person who would crush this opportunity instead of using it to show the world that he doesn’t like groping anymore or whatever.

Ugh.

What do you think of all this mess? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.

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