Report: John Lasseter Will Be Personally Liable For Any Harassment At Skydance

Skydance executives are apparently so unsure of John Lasseter’s ability to keep his hands, mouth, and other body parts to himself, that they have made him financially and legally liable for any lawsuits that arise from sexual misbehavior during his tenure with the company.

That incredible detail comes from a Variety article about Skydance’s hiring of John Lassseter as the head of their animation division.

Here are some new revelations about Lasseter’s contract and hiring process, per Variety’s reporting:

• The contract has provisions that make Lasseter responsible for paying for “legal issues arising from future misbehavior.” The provisions also “indemnify Skydance from any past misdeeds that had not come to light in the due diligence process conducted by an outside law firm.” According to Variety, Disney never settled any harassment claims against Lasseter while he was at the company, which contradicts what Cartoon Brew has been told by multiple sources that Disney settled at least one claim.
• During the hiring process, Lasseter met with an outside legal team enlisted by Skydance to address allegations of sexual harassment. The explanations he gave were deemed sufficient by Skydance’s CEO David Ellsion, however, there is a clause in his contract that says if he is found to have lied to those lawyers, he can be fired. An insider told Variety: “David has been clear with John about what is expected in terms of his behavior. If there is any daylight between them in terms of that, there will obviously be severe repercussions.”
• Lasseter is being paid a “generous seven-figure salary” in addition to “performance incentives, in the form of bonuses, tied to the box office results of movies he produces.”

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