# John Lasseter! Say It Ain't So! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321 "2017-11-21T21:16:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/1 "2017-11-21T21:16:29Z")
[He’s stepping down, acknowledging “missteps.”](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-lasseter-taking-leave-absence-pixar-missteps-1057113) ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/2 "2017-11-21T21:30:16Z")
Disney itself is calling it a “sabbatical”. Today I saw something I liked. Paraphrased: “Let’s not mourn that some great art was made by shitty men. Let’s mourn great art that never got made by women”. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/3 "2017-11-22T00:37:08Z")
Damn it. It seems from what I have read that Lasseter is a very tactile touchy-feely person, and that, in his mind, he probably felt that as long as he didn’t get overtly sexual, this made his actions okay. He was skirting impropriety right on the borders. Obviously the number of reports of warnings etc suggest otherwise from the recipients’ point of view. They didn’t like it and felt it was not okay. I have known a lot of those kinds of people, who like to touch others a lot, with a hand on the shoulder or knee, grabbing round the waist, or a lot of hugs for greeting, and that has always made me uncomfortable, even when there’s nothing more to it than how it appears. Unwanted touching is not the same as sexual assault, but it’s still unwanted. I hope serious assault doesn’t get diluted as these revelations go on. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/4 "2017-11-22T00:56:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I have known a lot of those kinds of people, who like to touch others a lot, with a hand on the shoulder or knee, grabbing round the waist, or a lot of hugs for greeting, and that has always made me uncomfortable, even when there’s nothing more to it than how it appears. > > Unwanted touching is not the same as sexual assault, but it’s still unwanted. I hope serious assault doesn’t get diluted as these revelations go on. Oh drat, now this has crossed my mind: I can imagine people around my community going “Hell, that’s just the Gringos being so up tight and cold”, and essentially wanting to pull a culture waiver… and trying to get “lesser” sexual assaults reclassed as just “overly friendly”. I have seen enough wrong situations around me to know that’s utter bull, nothing about being warm and laid back prevents there being mutual respect and clear borderlines, knowing there is a time and place for everything and that “no” needs be said only once and you should actually hear “yes” or else simply back off. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/5 "2017-11-22T01:50:13Z")
Here is a report with much more damning information. > **[John Lasseter’s Pattern of Alleged Misconduct Detailed by Disney/Pixar Insiders](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/john-lasseters-pattern-alleged-misconduct-detailed-by-disney-pixar-insiders-1059594/)** > > One longtime Pixar employee says Lasseter was known for “grabbing, kissing, making comments about physical attributes.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/6 "2017-11-22T04:10:40Z")
A statement from Rashida Jones, who became the face of this situation without her knowledge. > [@Rashida Jones and Will McCormack](#): > > We did not leave Pixar because of unwanted advances. That is untrue. That said, we are happy to see people speaking out about behavior that made them uncomfortable. As for us, we parted ways because of creative and, more importantly, philosophical differences. There is so much talent at Pixar and we remain enormous fans of their films. But it is also a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice, as is demonstrated by their director demographics: out of the 20 films in the company’s history, only one was co-directed by a woman and only one was directed by a person of color. We encourage Pixar to be leaders in bolstering, hiring, and promoting more diverse and female storytellers and leaders. We hope we can encourage all those who have felt like their voices could not be heard in the past to feel empowered. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-lasseter-say-it-aint-so/802321/7 "2017-11-22T04:23:51Z")
I’m guessing they’re letting him take a “sabbatical” for him to save a little face, for better or worse. Disney probably wants him gone, gone, gone, and he probably doesn’t want to go out like Weinstein. For all the money he’s made the studio, they probably allowed him his “taking a leave” story with the narrative that he’s just “really touchy-feely with everyone,” and are happy to have it all go away somewhat quietly. But I would imagine, at the end of the day, he’s never setting foot in a Pixar/Disney studio again. He knows it, Disney knows it, Buzz and Woody know it.