Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is calling out Disney for its recent Marvel Studios layoffs that saw 1,000 staffers let go from the company at large.
“Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI bank?!? Why do they get to steal our brilliance and use it to make executives rich while the artists responsible for feeding their robots go hungry??” the “Avengers” actress, 46, wrote in a Wednesday Instagram post alongside a video showing her reaction to the news.
“Disgusting. California lawmakers…where are you?!?!?”
Lilly continued, offering some words of support for the Marvel Studios artists “who designed and brought to life the glory days of Marvel.”
“I salute you,” she wrote, adding a salute emoji. “I was there. I know what you did. I know how passionately you worked round the clock to make magic happen. You are the magicians, no matter what the Wizards of our new Oz make it look like going forward. I will never forget.”
The actress — who announced her retirement from acting in June 2024 — then turned her focus on Disney, slamming the company with an explosive message.
“SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away,” she said, tagging the company.
The actress closed by urging her followers to show love to Marvel Studios’ Director of Visual Development, Andy Park, and thanking Patrick Caligiuri, who shared the news about the “bloodbath” layoffs at Disney in an Instagram Reel.
On April 14, Deadline reported about 8% of the workforce at both Marvel Entertainment in New York and Marvel Studios in Burbank, California, offices were hit with layoffs.
The shuttering spanned across most departments, including film and TV production, visual development, comics, franchise, finance and legal.
In the visual department, it’s been reported that the changes are significant, with only a small remaining team left to oversee the hiring of artists on a project-by-project basis who will be outside contractors going forward.
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro confirmed that up to 1,000 employees across the company were affected by the layoffs.
Marvel last underwent a round of layoffs in 2024.
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