Buried under 18 paragraphs of the Hollywood Reporter’s rehashing of fall of John Lasseter, the Pixar chief currently on a six-month leave of absence over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, is the bombshell news that Disney CEO Bob Iger has been aware of Lasseter’s alleged behavior going back to 2010.
In 2010, one former Pixar insider says Lasseter was spoken to — this person assumes by Iger; Disney would not comment — regarding an incident that occurred the night before Up won best animated feature at the Oscars. At a party that evening, Lasseter, who is married, was seen indiscreetly making out with a Disney marketing employee. For a time after that, his behavior was muted; he later told an associate that he had gotten into trouble and as a result was drinking only beer at a company event.
Lasseter’s leave ends soon and the speculation is that based on the prior allegations and some new ones, he will be fired.
While not terribly surprising, this news is notable, but nowhere near as notable as Iger reportedly being aware of Lasseter’s reported misbehavior for a full seven years before decisive action was taken.
This comes on top of what we learned in November — that Lasseter’s behavior had reportedly gotten so bad, Disney hired a personal handler to keep him out of trouble and to protect female staffers.
If true, how many more alleged victims piled up during those years Iger apparently looked the other way?
The far-left Iger, who is both a major Democrat contributor and hoping to position himself for a presidential run in 2020 or 2024, has some other questions to answer about other #MeToo scandals currently rocking the Mouse House.
First off, a lawsuit filed by an unidentified Canadian woman who claims to have been assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in 2000, has been allowed to proceed against Disney, the parent company of Weinstein’s Miramax at the time. Iger was Disney’s COO in 2000.
Countless people have credibly admitted that Weinstein’s alleged predations were an “open secret” at the time. In the lawsuit, Disney is accused of turning a blind eye to Weinstein’s behavior. So far, Disney’s attempt to have the suit killed have been laughable, including the claim that Disney gave Weinstein “full autonomy” at Miramax — which sounds an awful lot like “turning a blind eye” to his behavior.
Iger’s third problem is disgraced political reporter Mark Halperin, who has been credibly accused by numerous women of all kinds of disgusting behavior while he was at ABC News. At the time, Iger was president of the network.
As is the case with Weinstein, numerous people have come forward to claim that Halperin’s behavior was an “open secret.”
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