The 34-year-old actress resigned from the role due to social pressure, but she was not spared from controversy.
Scarlett Johansson turned down the leading role of her in the movie Rub & Tug, where she would play a trans man. She did not do it exactly voluntarily, but because of the backlash of the audience on social networks who pointed out her for accepting a role that belongs to trans actors, because compared to the best-known actors in the industry like Scarlett, they have no opportunities in Hollywood.
The resignation of the character was announced in July 2018, but the controversy haunts Johansson. This week the site Celebrity News took out of context the interview that the actress gave to the magazine, initiating criticism of her work again. The outlet used the following paragraph:
"You know, as an actress, they should allow me to play any person, or any tree, any animal because that is my job and the job requirements," Celebrity News used to indicate that the actress spoke out against political correctness in acting as if drop hints at the role he turned down for Rub & Tug.
So the Black Widow interpreter released a statement to clarify that the British media misrepresented her words for the clickbait. “The question that she answered with the contemporary artist David Salle was about the confrontation between the politically correct and art. I personally think that in an ideal world, an actor should play anyone, and art, in all its forms, should be immune to political correctness. That was my point, however, it did not intersect in that way, ”she said, referring to what happened with the character of the trans man.
“I recognize that there is actually a huge discrepancy in my industry that favors white and cisgender actors and that not every actor has had the same opportunities that I have been privileged with. I will continue to support, and always have, diversity in every industry and I will fight for projects where everyone is included”, she concluded in her statement.
On the other hand, this social lynching that Scarlett has gone through since casting to play a transgender man in Rub & Tug is not the first. Johansson had a very similar situation with Ghost in the Shell. In this 2917 film, she played Major Mira Killian, but fans of this manga argued that the studio should have cast a Japanese actor for the role, respecting the origin of the story. Thus they accused the film of whitewashing.
So Johansson's recent statements make bad sense for both Rub & Tug and Ghost in the Shell. Hence, she saw the need to launch the previous statement.
