CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Scarlett Johansson pulls out of trans drama after backlash

New Pittsburgh Courier: Scarlett Johansson on Friday withdrew from the film “Rub & Tug” after her plans to portray a transgender man prompted a backlash.

In a statement to Out.com on Friday, Johansson said she’s pulling out from the project “in light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting.” Last week, Johansson said she would star as Pittsburgh 1970s and ’80s prostitution ring leader Dante “Tex” Gill, who was born Lois Jean Gill but identified as a man.

1 comment:

Ariella Grossberg said...

After reading the original article that had showed how Scarlett Johansson handled the initial backlash from the trans community after word got out that she was going to play a trans actor I was wondering what it would take to recast her character. And after reading this article I am very happy to see that there will most likely be a transgender actor playing the transgender character in this Pittsburgh film. Although her initial response to the backlash was very rash and insensitive, I think that the way that she stepped down from the role was much more considerate. Although it does not make me completely forget about what she said about trans actors in the previous post, I see that the community is gradually growing in support for transgender actors who just want work. And the fact that the role was a transgender man, I believe it should still be played by a transgender man.