Evangeline Lilly, known for her role as Hope van Dyne (The Wasp) in four Marvel films, publicly criticized Disney for recent layoffs affecting Marvel's visual development department. In a video posted to Instagram, Lilly described the layoffs as 'disgusting and horrible,' expressing particular concern for artists like Andy Park, a longtime Marvel visual development artist who confirmed to Lilly that he had been let go as part of the cuts [1]. Lilly accused Disney of replacing these artists with AI, stating, 'That the people who invented these characters in the first place, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI. AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created and use it to create iterations of that' [1].
Lilly extended her sympathy to all Disney employees affected by the layoffs, emphasizing the impact on artists who contributed significantly to the Marvel franchise and now feel 'obsolete.' She further criticized the use of AI in art creation, arguing that 'these were human creations, and they shouldn’t be stolen by tech giants so that their robots can replicate them.' In her Instagram caption, Lilly tagged Disney and called on California lawmakers to enact legislation to protect human art from being used in AI databases, writing, '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?? Disgusting. California lawmakers...where are you?!?!' [1].
Disney confirmed earlier in the month that it would be laying off 1,000 employees across the company. In a memo obtained by Fox News Digital, CEO Josh D’Amaro stated that the company had been reviewing ways to streamline operations and 'foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce.' D’Amaro explained, 'Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney.' He added that the fast-moving pace of the industry requires Disney to 'constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs' [1].
However, Disney’s statement did not explicitly attribute the layoffs to AI, nor did the company respond to requests for comment regarding Lilly’s allegations about artists being replaced by AI [1].
CONCLUSION
Evangeline Lilly's public condemnation of Disney's layoffs highlights growing concerns about the impact of AI on creative jobs within the entertainment industry. While Disney confirmed significant workforce reductions aimed at streamlining operations, the company did not directly address claims regarding AI replacing artists. The controversy may prompt further scrutiny of Disney's labor practices and the broader use of AI in media production.