Pamela Abdy made her first public appearance since she and Mike De Luca were outed at Warner Bros., stepping out at Women in Film‘s annual WIF Honors event on Thursday — where she did not hold back.
The exec received the inaugural Vanguard Award, a recognition for a leader whose career embodies the qualities that move the industry forward, presented by Nancy Meyers. The honor was announced before her exit from the legacy studio, which took place as Paramount Skydance completed its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. last month.
Taking the stage, Abdy reflected on how she has worked with some of the greatest filmmakers of all time and tried to make films that spark “valuable conversations and debate.” However, she continued, “We also have to do this under the microscope of a media ecosystem that has largely abandoned analysis and fact for the trap of clickbait.” The exec then ran through a list, thanking every female director she has produced or worked with to date, followed by lists of the female execs and producers.
“My gratitude for these women has only grown over the years, but lately other feelings, and one in particular, have risen to the surface with undeniable ferocity — and that feeling is pure, unadulterated rage,” she told the crowd inside the Beverly Hilton. “Rage for these women, rage for me, and even more rage for the entire generation of women who deserve to have their potential recognized and elevated. Rage at how women are under attack everywhere. Rage at how our health and our well-being always seem to come second to how we show up in a room, and here’s the problem: as a leader who happens to be a woman, I am supposed to sublimate this rage. And you know what happens when they tell you to tamp down a fever? Sometimes it just burns hotter.”
Abdy continued, “I’ve been called difficult, emotional, combative. I’ve been told to put on my big-boy pants, to smile more. I’ve been told movies starring women and movies directed by women don’t make as much money, that the audience is limited. That everyone gets nervous when our sisters lead a movie because traditional tracking suggests men won’t show up,” going on to call out male directors for not supporting female directors in the same way they support each other.
“It is getting harder, not easier, to be a woman in the business. We tell ourselves because a few of us made it into these chairperson seats, we broke through, that we paved the way for the next generation. But I don’t think it’s true,” she said, pointing out how there are most powerful women in Hollywood lists and no version for the men because “they are the list.”
“What business are we leaving for future vanguards? Is it a healthy industry for the next generation of storytellers and executives to step into, one that allows women to enter with an open heart and mind without having to fight the fights we’re still fighting? These are the questions I think about when I focus on funneling my rage,” Abdy added, noting that this week’s election gave her some hope to see so many women appointed to top political positions. She went on to thank the people in her life (including De Luca) for being there through “the highs, the lows, the great successes, and yes, the very public failures.”
“It has taken me 31 years in this business to speak in my own voice and to stop caring whether someone calls me difficult. Because now when I hear that, I say, ‘No, you’re wrong.’ If the definition of difficult is someone who is passionate about getting movies made, then I will just have to suffer the fools who don’t know the difference and keep fighting to do what I love,” Abdy said in closing out her 15-minute speech. “I am so grateful and so blessed for this life I have and this career so far — I’m not done. And to be a part of this incredible community.”
Earlier in the night, Abdy also spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about life after Warner Bros., saying she has “no idea what we are going to do next. Honestly, it is kind of a nice thing to not know.” She also reacted to the recent culling of top female executives during the ongoing layoffs and restructuring; in addition to Abdy, Cindy Holland exited her post as Paramount‘s streaming chief, while Bela Bajaria was ousted as Netflix’s chief content officer.
“Obviously, it is upsetting to see,“ Abdy offered of a raft of departures of female executives among Hollywood‘s top ranks, adding, “But all of these women are incredible women and have incredible careers. These one moments don‘t define you. What defines you is the work you did and the work you left behind and the work you hope to do in the future. That‘s all we can keep doing, especially us executives, is try and support the next generation of storytellers and all of the artists.“
WIF Honors also celebrated Adria Arjona with the WIF Max Mara Face of the Future Award, Gemma Chan and Beth de Araújo with the Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film for their work on Josephine, Hannah Waddingham with the Crystal Award for Advocacy in TV for Ted Lasso, and Salma Hayek Pinault with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award, presented by Fonda herself.