After all of the whitewashing controversy Scarlett Johansson has been accused of, she’s finally spoken out.
Only now, she probably wishes she didn’t have since her words received major backlash — and memes — after being “taken out of context.”
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Actress Scarlett Johansson has found herself in hot water after a recent interview.
It was with As If magazine, an arts and culture magazine.
It was over her role to play Dante “Tex” Gill, a trans gangster in the upcoming film, “Rub & Tug”.
A huge social media outcry from the trans community caused Johansson to drop out of the film.
‘Transparent’ actress Trace Lysette commented on the casting controversy.
Lysette, who is transgender, said that she wouldn’t be upset about Scarlett getting the role if trans people were being considered and cast for non-trans roles at the same rate that cis actors are being considered and cast for trans roles.
She later released a statement to “Out” magazine about the decision to withdraw.
“In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project,” she said .
She also came under fire in 2017 for “whitewashing” accusations after being cast as the lead role in the sci-fi film, “Ghost in the Shell”.
Since the film is based on Japanese manga and anime, fans believed that the role should have gone to a Japanese actor.
In the interview, the “Avengers” star spoke out about casting controversies in Hollywood.
She calls this “political correctness” in casting.
“You know, as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job.”
“I feel like it’s a trend in my business and it needs to happen for various social reasons,” she continued.
“Yet there are times it does get uncomfortable when it affects the art because I feel art should be free of restrictions.”
Many believe her comments were related to the casting controversy she faced earlier this year.
Since her controversial comments from “As If” magazine was released, there’s been a lot of backlash.
Fans have been dragging the star online.
Some people pointed out the inherent imbalance in Scarlett’s point.
They pointed out that even being considered for roles of “any person” is a privilege that most trans actors and actresses don’t get.
They’ve been mocking her harrrddd.
It’s a good thing she doesn’t have social media …
The hits just keep on coming.
I mean, I’m sure purple is her color.
They’ve also spun her “tree” comments into some wild memes.
Another person tweeted an image of the tree in The Little Mermaid and said:
“Okay, hear me out, Scarlett Johansson as this tree in the background.”
Now, Scarlett is backtracking on her comments, big time.
In a statement released by the actress, she said that the interview for As If magazine was “edited for click bait and is widely taken out of context.”
“The question I was answering in my conversation with the contemporary artist, David Salle, was about the confrontation between political correctness and art.”
“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.”
She then went on to acknowledge that the Hollywood industry does favor caucasian actors.
“I continue to support, and always have, diversity in every industry and will continue to fight for projects where everyone is included.”
Now that that’s cleared up, maybe we can cool it on these ridiculous tree memes, eh?
Although some of them are pretty funny.
I could buy ScarJo as a graceful pine, but there’s just something about her that doesn’t scream “palm tree” to me.
