Rashida Jones Did Not Exit 'Toy Story 4' Because of John Lasseter's Alleged Unwanted Advances

Rashida Jones is speaking out to clarify why she left her role as a writer on the upcoming Toy Story 4, after Pixar and Disney animation chief John Lasseter was accused of unwanted advances in the office.

In a story posted by THR, one of the unwanted advances was allegedly made against Rashida and the outlet said this led to her departure from the project.

Rashida and her writing partner Will McCormack (pictured here) had been hired to co-write the film.

“We feel like we have been put in a position where we need to speak for ourselves. The break neck speed at which journalists have been naming the next perpetrator renders some reporting irresponsible and, in fact, counterproductive for the people who do want to tell their stories,” Rashida and Will said in a statement to The New York Times. “In this instance, The Hollywood Reporter does not speak for us. We did not leave Pixar because of unwanted advances. That is untrue. That said, we are happy to see people speaking out about behavior that made them uncomfortable. As for us, we parted ways because of creative and, more importantly, philosophical differences.”

Click inside to read the rest of the statement…

“There is so much talent at Pixar and we remain enormous fans of their films,” the statement continued. “But it is also a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice, as is demonstrated by their director demographics: out of the 20 films in the company’s history, only one was co-directed by a woman and only one was directed by a person of color. We encourage Pixar to be leaders in bolstering, hiring, and promoting more diverse and female storytellers and leaders. We hope we can encourage all those who have felt like their voices could not be heard in the past to feel empowered.”