After his six-month leave of absence ends this month over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, Disney executives are working on a way to bring John Lasseter back to the studio, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The idea would be to reduce his managerial power while still giving him full creative influence over Disney’s massive animation programs. Prior to his leave, Lasseter served as chief creative officer for Pixar and Disney Animation Studios.
But as TheWrap points out, a “homecoming for the powerful executive would be a departure from how many Hollywood companies have handled men accused of misconduct in the #MeToo era.” Simply put. Most of these men have been fired, and I know of no one hit with as many allegations as Lasseter who has yet to receive a second chance.
According to earlier reporting, Lasseter’s behavior was so bad, Disney assigned the animation a chief a “handler” as a means to protect women from his inappropriate behavior, which included “pulling a female executive tightly to him and move his hands over her body,” unwanted advances, “grabbing, kissing, making comments about physical attributes,” and unwanted touching.