In an outspoken criticism of The Walt Disney Co., actress Evangeline Lilly called out the entertainment company this week after firing more than 1,000 employees worldwide, including the entire visual development department of Marvel Studios.
The actress known for portraying Hope Van Dyne, alias “Wasp” in Marvel’s Ant-Man films, took to Instagram to criticize the layoffs of artists and the intentions behind them.
“It’s a bloodbath at Disney,” Lilly began in her Instagram post. “And Marvel Studios just took the worst of it.”
Lilly confirmed the reports that first appeared on social media by contacting Andy Park, who is the artist behind the original Wasp suit design in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
“I reached out to my good friend Andy Park … and just asked, ‘Is this true? Is this really what’s happening?” Lilly recalled in the video. “And he said, yeah, it’s true. I have been let go.”
Apart from the sheer number of those laid off, Lilly’s concerns centered on plans to replace humans with artificial intelligence.
“The people who invented these characters in the first place, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI,” she explained. “AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created and use it to create iterations of that.”
In the Instagram comments section, Lilly criticized California legislators for failing to enact laws protecting artists whose works are used to train AI programs in their stead without payment.
“Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI bank?!?” the actress posted. “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?”
According to Lilly, fans should celebrate Park and all the artists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, calling them “the magicians, no matter what the Wizards of our new Oz make it look like going forward.”
“These were human creations, and they shouldn’t be stolen by tech giants so that their robots can replicate them,” she continued. “I think it’s disgusting and horrible.”
Finally, Lilly left her message of condemnation directly to Disney. “SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away.”
At the time of writing, neither Disney nor Marvel Studios had commented on Lilly’s statements yet.
