Evangeline Lilly Slams Disney’s Marvel Layoffs as ‘Disgusting and Horrible’ in Emotional Instagram Post

Evangeline Lilly, known for her roles in Ant-Man and the Avengers franchise, has sharply criticized Disney’s decision to lay off 1,000 employees this month, many of whom were part of Marvel Studios. Lilly, who debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp) in Ant-Man (2015), called the layoffs “disgusting and horrible.”

Her remarks follow Disney’s announcement of the layoffs, which were reported to include an 8% reduction in Marvel’s workforce. Disney, however, disputed these figures, telling TheWrap that the number was “much smaller.”

In an Instagram video shared on Wednesday, Lilly revealed her conversation with Andy Park, the artist behind the original Wasp supersuit and concept designs for Ant-Man and the Wasp. “I reached out to my good friend Andy Park, who was the genius behind creating the original Wasp supersuit and the original Wasp concept drawings for the film Ant-Man and the Wasp, and just said, ‘Is this true? Is this really what’s happening?’” Lilly recounted. “And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s true. I have been let go.’”

Lilly expressed disbelief at the decision, stating, “I can’t quite believe that Disney have let go of the artists who brought the current Marvel Universe to life through their imagination and their genius.” She extended her condolences to Park and other Marvel employees, whom she described as having “been considered obsolete now after building the Marvel Empire.”

“If you’re a huge fan of Marvel, just take a moment today to think about them, to send up a prayer for them, to honor them, to honor the people who created the world that you fell in love with. That was a human invention. These were human creations. And they shouldn’t be stolen by tech giants so that their robots can replicate them.”

Lilly, who is currently on a self-imposed hiatus from acting (announced in 2024), also lamented the increasing replacement of human artists by AI. “I think it’s disgusting and horrible, and I stand with all the artists,” she said. “And Andy, I’m so sorry, and I love you guys.”

In the caption of her Instagram post, Lilly urged California lawmakers to pass legislation preventing “all human art from the AI bank,” questioning, “Why do they get to steal our brilliance and use it to make executives rich while the artists responsible for feeding their robots go hungry??”

She concluded with a tribute to Marvel Studios artists: “To the @marvelstudios artists who designed and brought to life the glory days of Marvel … I salute you. I was there. I know what you did. I know how passionately you worked round the clock to make magic happen.”