Collateral Damage: When Cast and Crew Are Affected by a Celebrity’s Controversy

There’s been a slew of celebrities involved in controversies in the midst of a project. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are involved in a feud over their film It Ends With Us, with Baldoni’s lawyer saying the actor lost three lucrative projects over the conflict and that the feud has devastated him financially. 

Several women accused Neil Gaiman of abuse. As a result, comic book Anansi Boys was dropped by Dark Horse comics and the TV adaptation is still in limbo without a premiere date till now even if it was already done with postproduction. 

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón’s problematic tweets were unearthed by journalist Sarah Hagi and caused a controversy, affecting her and the movie’s chances at the Oscars, which is a shame because it’s leading the race with 13 nominations. 

When a celebrity, especially if they are the lead of a movie or TV show, is embroiled in a scandal, the ripple effect spreads quickly to all those involved. Directors, co-stars, and crew members who may have invested months or even years into a project can suddenly find themselves without work or prospects for new projects, as no one wants to work with or hire people involved in a controversy. 

Here's an example of this: The Flash’s director Andy Muschietti tried to blame a number of issues for why the 2023 movie flopped. Sure, there are other valid reasons that contributed to the movie’s underwhelming box office such as superhero fatigue, or the fact that fans knew that that version of the DCEU was ending (new DC boss James Gunn was in the process of rebooting everything), but perhaps one of the main reasons for its failure was its problematic lead. Ezra Miller had several controversial issues in the past such as burglary and assault charges, accusations of disorderly conduct and harrassment and grooming issues. 

In many cases, the cast members who are caught in the crossfire of a celebrity’s scandal are often overlooked. When a movie or TV show is associated with a controversial star, it can lead to diminished public interest. Sure, the celebrity involved is at the center of the storm and often receives the most media attention, but the co-stars are often left trying to salvage what they can from a project that was once seen as promising. 

Take, for example, what’s happening now with Emilia Pérez. Not only does it lead the Oscar race, but it also made history with Karla Sofía Gascón being the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for the Academy Awards and Golden Globes for the Best Actress category. But with her controversy, her co-stars and director are doing damage control by trying to distance the movie from her. 

Director Jacques Audiard told Deadline, “Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad.” He also said that he hasn’t spoken to the actress, nor does he plan to. “What I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her. I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez].” 

Lively’s new movie with Anna Kendrick, Another Simple Favor, is also affected by Blake Lively’s ongoing legal drama with Justin Baldoni; you can't talk about Lively these days without talking about her controversy (and Another Simple Favor is rumored to have its own controversies).

While it’s impossible to predict how a celebrity’s personal behavior will affect a production, these influential and public figures need to be reminded about accountability since it’s not just their careers that are on the line if and when they do something controversial. They need to think about the supporting cast and crew who may be collateral damage to circumstances that could have been avoided if they were only cautious. 

It seemed Gascón “heard” Audiard, who said, “I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions” because she posted on Instagram that she hoped her “silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.”