Highlights
- The star of She-Hulk, Tatiana Maslany, has criticized Disney CEO Bob Iger's stance on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, calling him out of touch.
- Maslany, who has personal experience working on a Disney show, believes that the workers who make the shows happen and bring viewers should be treated better.
- Maslany's support of the strike, along with other big names like Andy Serkis, highlights the importance of treating all writers and actors with fairness and respect.
If there's one person whose bad side everyone should avoid, it's a Hulk. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star Tatiana Maslany spoke out against Disney CEO Bob Iger's decidedly unfriendly stance on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood, and she did so with the sort of power one might expect from a powerful green lawyer.
As part of arguably one of the best things to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years, Maslany has some clout to work with. Not only did She-Hulk evoke classic comedies during its genuinely hilarious first season, but Maslany's performance as Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk, helped bring to life one of the most challenging characters to translate into live-action. So when she stepped up to the plate on the picket line to voice her support of the strike, she came from a place of well-earned respect. Iger had previously called the strike "very disturbing" and slammed the writers and actors requesting fair treatment, saying, "there’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic."
As reported by Collider, Maslany recently spoke her mind regarding Iger's comments while on the picket line alongside Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was showing her support for the strike. "I think he's completely out of touch," Maslany said of the Disney CEO's opinionated statements. "He's completely out of touch with the workers who make his shows happen, who make people watch these shows, who bring viewers to him and his money. Having worked on a Disney show, I know where people fall through the cracks and where people are taken advantage of and it's outrageous the amount of wealth that is not shared with the people who actually make the show. That's crew, cast, writers."
Maslany isn't the only big name out there passionately defending the writers' and actors' rights. Lord of the Rings and Andor star Andy Serkis recently offered similar comments. But what's significant about this case is that Maslany is still employed by Disney. She's still She-Hulk, after all. But what Iger didn't count on is that her smashing tendencies also apply to real-world problems, like workers' rights.
Ironically, Iger may have helped She-Hulk end in the surreal way it did when he stepped in to stop Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige from being fired. But that didn't affect his view of things on the ground floor of the various productions under Disney. It's easy to see how Maslany's "out of touch" comment may be apt in this case. Considering who has supported the strike, including the aforementioned AOC, it seems clear that it's an essential step toward treating all writers and actors with fairness and respect.
She-Hulk hilariously highlighted Marvel's biggest weaknesses, so it feels appropriate that its star would embody that same spirit regarding the more grounded problems of real life. Here's hoping Maslany's powerful speech can join the countless others and help get the striking workers the fairness and respect they deserve.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: Collider