Why should John Lasseter be given a second chance, asks Emma Thompson

Actor Emma Thompson, who pulled out of the production of "Luck" over the hiring of John Lasseter by Skydance, has written a letter, explaining why she found it difficult to work with someone with a history of sexual misconduct.

Lasseter, a co-founder of Pixar and former chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, had to quit from his post after a number of women came forward with allegations of sexual exploitation against him.

He was hired to head Skydance animation in January this year, prompting Thompson to quit the the film.

"It feels very odd to me that you and your company would consider hiring someone with Mr Lasseter's pattern of misconduct given the present climate in which people with the kind of power that you have can reasonably be expected to step up to the plate," the Oscar-winning actor wrote in her letter, sent to the Los Angeles Times.

The 59-year-old actor said while she understood that the "situation was complicated" because it involved too many people, she wanted to ask some questions to the bosses at Skydance.

"If a man has been touching women inappropriately for decades, why would a woman want to work for him if the only reason he's not touching them inappropriately now is that it says in his contract that he must behave 'professionally'?
The 62-year-old executive, best known for transforming Pixar from a small graphics department at Lucasfilm into the world's most successful animation studio, was the pioneering director of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2."