JL, I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that. It appeared that you and Panda have or had a good relationship. Did he question what happened with you at the Dis before he joined? Did he just fall for Pete’s superficial showering of gifts, etc also?
Yes, the only other person attached to The Dis that I have known longer than Panda is Jackie. They both were a part of my first steps in the Disney community, The Disney Driven Life and a webcast called Inner Mouse. Panda and I have remained friends the entire time even though we go for long spells without seeing or talking to one another.
And, yes, Panda knew what he was walking into. He called me one day and said, "I'm going to tell you something, but I don't want you to be mad at me." Then he told me he was going to start working with Pete. I don't think he was expecting the response he got. I laughed at him and said, "Well, this is going to end badly." We had a long conversation, and I laid it all out for him. He said he had already made the decision and was definitely going to partner with The Dis. I was never worried about Panda, though. He knows how to grease a wheel so things work in his favor. He also knows how to cut out when things are no longer serving his purposes. So, I told Panda to make sure he protected his brand and not to sign anything that a lawyer didn't look at first. He assured me that he was on top of it all, and that was the last we talked until all of the recent events with Pete broke.
He called me a month or so after everything came to light and he said, "JL, when I was there, it all happened just as you said it would. It's so crazy, but it was just like you said." Interestingly, he wasn't the first person to tell me that. Oliver was.
Oliver also walked into the job with eyes open because I gave him a heads-up before he accepted the job. He, too, reached out to me when he was offered the position. We didn't know each other at all, but I guess he felt I would be the most likely to answer questions he had. He was right. I was very nervous about talking to Oliver because if Pete found out I did, I definitely would have been fired for it. But, in Oliver's case, I felt I had to let him know what he was walking into, so I stuck my neck out. We spent 2 or 3 hours on the phone that night while I talked to him in depth about what it is like for new people. We reviewed the entire team person by person. I told him what he would need to do with each individual to get past the suspicion he would face. Then we talked extensively about what he was walking into with Pete. I didn't sugarcoat it. I told him that he would be sexually harassed because at some point almost all of the guys are, but I stressed that he might get an extra dose of it because he was walking into Dustin's seat and Pete had yucky motives. Oliver said that he really needed the job, though, so he was ready to deal with all of it. And he definitely dealt with all of it. When he quit, though, he called me soon after and said, "JL, it went down exactly as you said. It really was exactly as you said down to the smallest detail."
I had two other people call me when they were offered jobs by Pete. I had been fired by that point, and I guess they wanted an honest take on what they would be accepting. I was able to help both of those individuals steer clear and avoid the trauma they would have definitely suffered. The first one I told, "I am a mother, so I can say this with complete confidence...your parents wouldn't want you to take this job. Run as far as you can in the other direction." The second one, Oliver and I, both, warned about the likelihood of sexual harassment. I told him in no uncertain terms that Pete was a predator, and I couldn't stress enough that he should not accept the dinner invitation Pete extended to him. Oliver told him the same. Luckily, he took our advice and turned down the invitation. When the recent news about Pete drugging and sexually assaulting guys broke, the young man reached out to me to thank me for "saving him." He said, "You and Oliver were strong enough to get out, but I am not that strong of a person. I probably wouldn't have come through ok on the other side." He got to me with that. Not going to lie. I cried when he told me that.
Anyway, those are all the people who I informed about The Dis before they walked into it. I wanted them to know what they were choosing since I didn't have a complete picture when I jumped in. Some still moved forward. Some didn't. All stepped away with the same thoughts and feelings about the company.
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I definitely noticed Panda got the golden treatment in the beginning that Sean and JL mentioned.
@imjenilynn don't worry about the length of your posts, I didn't watch The Dis when you were on, but I am enjoying learning about your background and story. I find your writing insightful and reflective, I understand why you were a fan favorite on the the show. I am so disturbed that John allowed Pete to go through with termination under the guise of stealing. Pete was the one that wrote the check, not you taking money without permission from him. If anything, Pete should have been in trouble with John for overpayment since Pete always mentioned John was the money person in the business. The only confusing part I feel is that Ryno mentioned on one of his livestreams that you didn't like him, but didn't get into the reasons. You don't have to share the story, but did it revolve around this returning the check issue or was it a different incident?
No, my feelings about Ryno don't have anything to do with returning the check. He told me that he gave Pete the check, and I believe him. Regardless, I texted Pete about the check, so he would have been aware it was waiting for him even if Ryno hadn't given the check to Pete.
I imagine that Ryno didn't get into the reason he and I ended on less-than-ideal terms on his livestream because he doesn't want to open that door. If he ever does, I'll walk through it with an accurate retelling of events. For now, though, I am aware that he has been on the beating end of the stick enough since I left, and I don't want to contribute to that.
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I've been wondering about this as well. I would guess that he took part in throwing coworkers under the bus for his gain or protection or whatever you want to call it. Pete asked me who my favorite person on the show was as well. I said JL, especially when she was on the universal show because was the adult in the room with a couple of adolescents. But I actually loved how relaxed and ridiculous Craig and Ryno were on the universal show, and then JL would just comically sigh out of annoyance as she tried to keep the conversation and topic moving along. Anyways, back to when told Pete that JL was my favorite, he told me "well you know she was actually a very hard person to work with. Craig and Ryno always complained to me that she was lazy and would never pull her weight." Again, I have seen the light and recognize that I can't really trust anything he told me. But I do wonder if they talked bad about JL to Pete before and after her termination to help them stay in good graces with the evil queen.
Craig and Ryno were great on the Universal Show, and I give Ryno credit for being one of the more creative and witty minds on the team. He does truly have cool and original ideas that are "out of the box" (or at least that was the case when I was there). Ryno and I, initially, had a great start. I think I was the first person to welcome him because I didn't want him to feel like I did when I first came on board. I asked him out to lunch so that I would have a chance to get to know him and help him not feel awkward about being new.
We also had a great time during the trip that I took with the team to Disneyland. We were ride buddies. I found him very charming and funny. We had a great time, and, during those days, I thought there was potential for us to become close friends. Sadly, this did not end up being the case, but we were able to put on a smile and do our jobs together. And we did just that.
As far as Craig goes, he and I have always had a great friendship. His job was threatened once because he took a picture with me (after I was fired) and posted it on his Instagram. He knew that was a risk he was taking by doing that, but he said he didn't care and did it anyway. My point is that I have always considered Craig and I to be close. We worked together on media events quite a bit. He was aware that I hustled to get stuff done. And I was usually chasing him for the Universal episode topic so that I could prepare. I seriously doubt Craig would have accused me of not pulling my weight. I suppose he could have, but it doesn't seem likely.
What is likely is that Pete made this stuff about Craig and Ryno up because "I framed a single mother for theft and then kicked her and her three children to the curb so that I could have the headcount available and lure my recent sexual abuse victim back" doesn't sound as professional. Looking at where we ended up, though, I think it is obvious who pulls her weight and who is just weight.