It was an accident that rocked Deadpool 2 and Hollywood as a whole a few years back.
Of course, we’re talking about when Joi “SJ” Harris, a 40-year-old professional rider from New York City, was killed during production of the Fox sequel while performing a motorcycle stunt that went awry on the Vancouver set. Production immediately shut down for several days afterwards as investigations took place.
From what was reported at the time, we know that Harris was performing the stunt in question in and around Jack Poole Plaza when “she lost control of her bike, hit a curb, and was thrown into a plate-glass window of the Shaw Tower.” And now, almost 3 years after the incident, the producers behind Deadpool 2 have been slapped with a hefty fine of almost $300,000 – $289,562 to be exact – for “failing to provide a safe workplace.”
According to Deadline, the fine has been imposted on “TCF Vancouver Productions LTD by WorkSafeBC, the U.S. equivalent of OSHA.”
“The primary purpose of an administrative penalty is to motivate the employer receiving the penalty — and other employers — to comply with occupational health and safety requirements and to keep their workplaces safe,” the agency said today.
An investigation conducted by WorkSafeBC, meanwhile, found five violations of the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, which were as follows:
• Failure to ensure the health and safety of all workers by failing to identify the hazards and assess and control the risks of the work activity and failing to provide adequate supervision.
• Failure to ensure that the stunt performer complied with the Regulation by wearing safety headgear while operating the motorcycle.
• Failure to ensure the health and safety of the stunt performer by failing to provide adequate supervision with respect to this work activity.
• Failure to provide the stunt performer with a new worker orientation.
• Instructing the stunt performer not to wear safety headgear while operating the motorcycle.
Though Deadpool 2 was Harris’ first movie working as a stunt performer, she’d previously found herself as the very first African-American woman to become licensed to actively compete in American Motorcyclist Association races. Her death was a tragedy and is made all the more terrible given that it could’ve been avoided had the production team provided a safer workplace for her to operate in. Hopefully, this incident will act as a wake-up call to Hollywood and lead to better working conditions for both cast and crew members moving forward.
RIP Joi Harris.
