Mouths were left wide open in shock when it was announced that longtime Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso had suddenly departed the company, especially when she’d been with the comic book conglomerate for almost 20 years, and had long since solidified herself as one of Kevin Feige’s most trusted lieutenants.
No reasons were given for her exit at the time, although it didn’t take long for the conspiracy theories emerge, but a string of recent bombshells have lit the touchpaper on what could be an explosive time for both Marvel and Disney. Alonso’s lawyer fired the first shot while addressing rumors that she’d been axed for working on Oscar-nominated documentary Argentina, 1985, and litigator Patty Glaser didn’t hold back.
Unloading with both barrels, Glaser alleged that “Victoria, a gay Latina who had the courage to criticize Disney, was silenced” and was ultimately “terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible,” but not before threatening the Mouse House and Marvel with “serious consequences.”
In response, Disney fired back with a statement of its own, revealing that Alonso was fired for “an indisputable breach of contract and a direct violation of company policy.” The scuttlebutt indicates that the ex-MCU veteran was forbidden from speaking to the media after blasting the family-friendly company’s handling of the “Don’t Say Gay” debacle, while additional hearsay offers that she got involved in Argentina, 1985 despite being expressly forbidden from doing so, which could be where the breach of contract comes into play.
We haven’t even mentioned whispers that she’d been pinpointed as the number one culprit in the franchise’s ongoing overworking of its VFX departments, so we’re a long way away from reaching the truth. Before then, it looks as though the situation is going to keep heating up.