Former Marvel Exec Victoria Alonso Reportedly Settles with Marvel After Controversial Firing
Former Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso has reportedly settled with Disney, following her sudden firing from the company last month. On Thursday, new reports indicated that The Walt Disney Company has reached a settlement with Alonso, following her surprising departure from Marvel Studios last month. While the specifics of the deal are confidential, it was reportedly reached within the past few days, and Alonso was reportedly given a multi-million financial compensation.
Alonso, who was the President of Physical, Post Production, Visual Effects, and Animation at Marvel Studios, was suddenly fired last month. In the time since, reports have hinted that Alonso was fired by Disney due to her work as a producer on Amazon's Oscar-nominated film Argentina, 1985, which could have violated the noncompete clause of her Marvel contract.
Why was Victoria Alonso fired from Marvel?
According to Variety's reporting, Alonso's latest contract forbade her from working on or even promoting anything outside of Marvel. This then became complicated when Argentina, 1985 was submitted for nomination for the Academy Awards, and ultimately scored a nomination for Best International Picture. Alonso reportedly then continued to promote the film, even walking the Oscars press line for it, as opposed to Marvel's nominated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Alonso's attorney, Patty Glaser, later refuted the claims, saying that Alonso had Disney's blessing to work on the film.
"The idea that Victoria was fired over a handful of press interviews relating to a personal passion project about human rights and democracy that was nominated for an Oscar and which she got Disney's blessing to work on is absolutely ridiculous," Glaser's statement reads. "Victoria, a gay Latina who had the courage to criticize Disney, was silenced. Then she was terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible. Disney and Marvel made a really poor decision that will have serious consequences. There is a lot more to this story and Victoria will be telling it shortly—in one forum or another."
According to another anonymous source cited in the report, Alonso was allegedly told that she could no longer do press for Marvel projects, after she called out Disney's then-CEO Bob Chapek for his response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill during a speech at the 2022 GLAAD awards.
This echoes reports indicating that the decision to fire Alonso was not made by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, but by Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, who Marvel Studios executives report to. Feige reportedly did not intervene, and Alonso was reportedly blindsided by the decision to fire her. Alonso has been working with Marvel Studios for several years now, and most recently served as Marvel's president of physical production, post-production, VFX and animation.
What do you think of these new details about Victoria Alonso's departure from Marvel? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
h/t: Deadline
