The Black Widow actress Scarlet Johansson pulls out from playing a trans man in the Rub & Tug following LGBTQ backlash.
Scarlett Johansson had to further clarify the remarks she made, about her controversial casting decisions in an interview with As If, saying that her comments were taken out of context.
The actress recently gave a candid interview in the magazine, which also featured a colorful spread of beautiful pop art photos.
In the interview, The Black Widow actress stated that she felt she should be allowed to play anyone or anything she wants, even a tree, and that political correctness has no place in art.
Defending Her Stance
She said: “I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and Art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness. That is the point I was making, albeit didn’t come across that way.”
Upon defending her stance she did not directly reference the film roles she has received the most criticism for, but she said she did feel the criticism for taking on roles of marginalized characters was overall a trend she does not appreciate.
Problematic Role Choices
She first received this kind of criticism and was accused of “whitewashing” when she took the lead role in 2017’s Ghost in the Shell, playing a character that was Japanese in the original manga series.
Last week, she sparked a controversy yet again when it was announced that she was re-teaming with her Ghost in the Shell director Rupert Sanders, to star in a Rub & Tug, a movie about a true-life story of Dante “Tex” Gill, a famous 1970s massage parlour owner in Pittsburgh, who was born a woman but lived as a man.
Online commentators began to criticize the actress as soon as the news broke, for choosing to as a cisgender woman to play a transgender man, advocating that the role should have gone to a transgender actor.
Johansson has since issued a statement, saying that she has decided to withdraw from the project, in light of the recent ethical questions raised surrounding her decision to accept the role of Dante “Tex” Gill.
