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Very Bearish -75

“Avengers” star Evangeline Lilly slams Disney for Marvel layoffs: 'Disgusting and horrible'

AI-generated analysis

🌟 Evangeline Lilly condemned Disney's recent Marvel layoffs as "disgusting and horrible," calling out the company publicly on social media.

👩‍🎨 The actress criticized the firing of 1,000 employees, noting that 8% of Marvel's workforce was eliminated, including a significantly reduced visual development team.

🤖 Lilly expressed concern that human artists creating the Marvel Universe were being replaced by artificial intelligence to replicate their work.

🤝 She verified the layoffs by contacting Andy Park, who designed the original Wasp supersuit and confirmed he had been let go.

📉 While Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro stated the cuts were meant to "streamline operations" without mentioning AI, Lilly implied tech giants are stealing human creations for robots.

🙏 Lilly publicly apologized to Andy Park and the Marvel team, urging fans to honor the human inventors behind the characters.

⚖️ The actress called on California lawmakers to pass legislation protecting artists' work from artificial intelligence encroachment.

🎬 Evangeline Lilly first joined the MCU in 2015's Ant-Man as Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp and appeared in several major releases since then.

📅 She previously announced plans to step away from acting in 2024 amid these industry changes.

🗣️ In her video statement, Lilly stated that Marvel characters should not be "stolen by tech giants so that their robots can replicate them."

💔 Her comments highlight growing tensions between Hollywood entertainment figures and corporate decisions regarding AI and workforce reductions.

Bullish Signals
  • , Evangeline Lilly, a beloved 'Avengers' star, publicly saluted Marvel Studios artists for bringing the MCU to life through their imagination and genius.
  • Lilly expressed deep gratitude for the creative team that built the Marvel Empire, calling them 'magicians' who made magic happen round the clock.
  • She personally reached out to Andy Park, the original designer of The Wasp supersuit, acknowledging his talent and apologizing for him and other affected employees.
  • Lilly highlighted her extensive connection to the franchise, having debuted as Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp in 2015's 'Ant-Man' and reprising the role through 2023's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'.
  • She called upon California lawmakers to protect artists' work from artificial intelligence, advocating for human creativity.
  • Fans were encouraged to honor the Marvel team who created the characters loved by audiences worldwide.
Risk Factors
  • Disney laid off 1,000 employees, representing an elimination of 8% of its Marvel workforce.
  • The layoffs significantly impacted the visual development team, which was described as being 'significantly gutted'.
  • CEO Josh D'Amaro's memo indicated the cuts were to 'streamline our operations' rather than due to creative necessity.
  • Key creative talent like Andy Park, who created the original Wasp supersuit and concept drawings for 'Ant-Man and the Wasp', have been let go.
  • Avengers actress Evangeline Lilly stated she is stepping away from acting in 2024 following these events.
  • Disney is facing accusations of replacing human artists with AI technology to replicate their own creations.
Full Analysis
Disney actress Evangeline Lilly publicly criticized the entertainment giant for its recent workforce reductions, labeling the move "disgusting and horrible" in an Instagram video and accompanying post shared by Entertainment Weekly. The layoffs, which impacted approximately 1,000 employees across Disney operations, disproportionately affected Marvel Studios with reported cuts to 8% of its workforce and significant losses to its visual development team. Lilly confirmed the severity of the situation by contacting her friend Andy Park, a concept artist who worked on the original Wasp design for *Ant-Man and the Wasp*, after learning through social media that he had been let go. Lilly expressed deep personal sorrow for Park and the broader creative community, stating she felt it was unfair to replace human artists with artificial intelligence, despite Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro's memo attributing the cuts to a general "streamlining" of operations rather than AI specifically. The actress, who has portrayed Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp since 2015 and is stepping away from acting in 2024, emphasized that Marvel heroes were human inventions deserving honor rather than exploitation by tech giants. She called on California lawmakers to protect artists' intellectual property from AI replication and urged fans to remember the magicians who built the Marvel Empire before it could be dismantled.