Scarlett Johansson has managed to cause upset once again by playing a role of a trans man in upcoming film Rub And Tug.
Avengers: Infinity War star Scarlett Johansson has outdone her ‘whitewashing’ controversy by taking on the role of a trans man in upcoming gangster film Rub And Tug.
Last year Johansson had come under fire for taking on the role of cyborg policewoman Major Motoko Kusanagi in the live action remake of the cult classic anime Ghost In The Shell.
Whilst Johansson claimed her role was more about feminism, many could not forgive the actress for ‘whitewashing’ the role.
Although casting agents are criticised too for ‘whitewashing’, ultimately the responsibility is regarded to lie with the actor’s decision to take the role. Deadpool‘s Ed Skerein famously stepped aside from his role in the upcoming Hellboy remake for Daniel Dae Kim to take his place as Asian character Major Ben Daimo.
Now, the 33-year-old actress has once again found herself in hot water by taking on the role of trans gender Dante “Tex” Gill in upcoming gangster biopic Rub And Tug. Gill was a brothel owner and mobster in 1970s Pittsburgh who was born a female but identified as a man.
Rub And Tug’s director Rupert Sanders also directed Johansson in Ghost In The Shell.
Johansson responded to the criticism of her decision to take on the Gill role by saying, “tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.”
Tambor, Leto and Huffman are all cis actors who played trans roles. Leto and Tambor won an Oscar and Emmy for their roles as transgender woman Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club transgender woman Maura in Transparent respectively.
Tambor was fired from the show after he was accused of sexual harassment by two transgender colleagues.
Nonetheless, Twitter users have not refrained from sharing their criticism towards Johansson for her latest casting decision.
“I’m gonna avoid Scarlett Johansson movies moving forward after her response,” one user wrote. “Even if this topic were complex (and it’s not: trans people should play trans people), flippantly dismissing concerns over this new role really says a lot about her views regarding trans people.”
“Scarlett Johansson is playing a trans man in her next movie because her ultimate career goal is to take an acting job from a member of each and every marginalized group,” wrote another.
Literally the LEAST you could do when making a movie about trans people is to cast a trans person in the role that was written for them. Scarlett Johansson needs to stop naievely choosing roles, and studios need to do better.
— Derek Abolish ICE Sherry 🌹 (@NotKyleSherry) July 4, 2018
scarlett johansson is gonna work with the ghost in the shell director AGAIN but this time she’s gonna play a trans man pic.twitter.com/G9BrZLbedF
— maría (@brujasescarlata) July 3, 2018
Scarlett Johansson is playing a trans man in her next movie because her ultimate career goal is to take an acting job from a member of each and every marginalized group.
— Faith Choyce (@faithchoyce) July 3, 2018
Yeah, I'm gonna avoid Scarlett Johansson movies moving forward after her response. Even if this topic were complex (and it's not: trans people should play trans people), flippantly dismissing concerns over this new role really says a lot about her views regarding trans people.
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) July 3, 2018
