John Ridley, Disney, ABC Sued For Discrimination By Woman Executive
John Ridley and Disney have been hit with a lawsuit for discrimination.
On Thursday (April 4), Deadline reported that Asta Jonasson, a former director of development, is suing the screenwriter, Disney, and ABC for gender, racial, and economic discrimination. Jonasson’s suit claims that she spoke her mind about being overlooked for promotions in the company. As alleged retaliation, she was pink-slipped in 2022 after serving more than a decade at ABC. “In reaction to Jonasson’s complaint of unlawful discrimination, Ridley expressed anger and dismissed her concerns,” the legal doc reads.
Asta Jonasson detailed being underpaid and overworked in her lawsuit against the trio. Asta insisted that Ridley consistently bypassed her and gave opportunities to white men and women instead. The executive also pointed out John Ridley’s “hypocrisy of his public positions on civil rights” as they didn’t align with how he treated her in the workplace.
“Throughout Ms. Jonasson’s assignment under Ridley and IFPRPC, her salary went unchanged,” the lawsuit reads. “[They] did not match pay scales for the position she was performing. Ridley failed to offer Jonasson a salary commensurate with the role for which she was qualified and already performing. Instead, Ridley offered a development position with a higher salary to a white male, who ultimately did not take on the role.”
Screenwriter John Ridley attends the Oscars Governors Ball at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 2, 2014, in Hollywood, California.
Djansezian/Getty Images
“On multiple occasions, Jonasson complained to Ridley about the hypocrisy of his public positions on civil rights and his private failure to pay Jonasson, a woman of color, commensurate with her skill, effort, and responsibility. Ridley’s hypocrisy continues to this day, with the premiere of his film Shirley, a biographical film based on the life of Shirley Chisholm: the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress and a vocal proponent of equal pay and women’s rights.”
Asta claimed that she took the matter to ABC. However, she claims that the company failed to act properly against Ridley. The former executive recalled an incident in which Ridley hired a white woman to do tasks she was already hired to do.
Reina King, John Ridley, and Regina King attend Netflix’s ‘Shirley’ Los Angeles Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on March 19, 2024, in Los Angeles, California.
Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix
“Jonasson also complained to ABC about this unlawful discrimination, but ABC failed to take any remedial action,” the suit continues. “In 2021, ABC and Ridley/IFPRPC hired Shannon Rhoades, a white woman, to perform tasks that Jonasson was already performing, but for substantially more money. Jonasson reiterated her complaints of discrimination. In response, her employment was summarily and wrongfully terminated by ABC and Ridley/IFPRPC.
“After over a decade of being taken advantage of by men in positions of power in Hollywood and the major media organizations that enable and protect them, Jonasson now seeks to stand up for herself and countless others in Hollywood who, without bargaining power and in the face of systemic discrimination, are taken advantage of and left working long hours for low wages and little to no credit.”
Asta Jonasson is seeking unspecified damages from the trio.
Actor Vin Diesel arrives at the Premiere Of Universal Pictures’ “Fast & Furious 6” on May 21, 2013 in Universal City, California.
Harrison/Getty Images
Asta previously filed a lawsuit against Vin Diesel in December 2023. According to Vanity Fair, the woman accused the actor of sexual battery stemming from a 2010 incident. Asta Jonasson claims that Diesel’s production company, One Race, hired her to work for the actor in Atlanta. Jonasson alleged that she was asked to wait in his suite, where she claims the Fast & Furious actor “grabbed [her] wrists, one with each of his hands, and pulled her onto the bed.” She broke free from his grasp and ran to the door. But he then approached her again.
“Ms. Jonasson was afraid to more forcibly refuse her supervisor, knowing that getting him out of that room was both crucial to her personal safety and job security,” the suit reads. “But this hope died when Vin Diesel dropped to his knees, pushed Ms. Jonasson’s dress up toward her waist, and molested her body, running his hands over Ms. Jonasson’s upper legs, including her inner thighs.”
Diesel “categorically denied” the claims via a statement to Deadline through his lawyer, Bryan Freedman.
