Friday the Los Angeles Times published a note revealing that Walt Disney Studios had blocked its writers from attending upcoming movie screenings due to critical reporting they had done on Disneyland’s relationship to the city of Anaheim. Now Disney has reportedly rescinded the blackout based on a media-wide backlash that has occurred over the weekend.
“We’ve had productive discussions with the newly installed leadership at The Los Angeles Times regarding our specific concerns, and as a result, we’ve agreed to restore access to advance screenings for their film critics,” Disney told the New York Times in a statement.
Early Tuesday several critics associations including the LA Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Boston Society of Film Critics, came together to denounce Disney’s decision and discount Disney films from their year-end awards if the blackout agains the L.A. Times wasn’t rescinded.
Journalists and film critics from other publications like the Washington Post and the New York Times, plus Ava DuVernay, also joined the boycott before Disney decided they were ending the blackout.