Oh NO, ScarJo

via vulture

On Tuesday it was revealed that actress Scarlett Johansson would be pairing up with director Rupert Sanders once more for what seems to be another out of touch casting. The film titled, “Rub and Tug,” tells the story of transgender man Jean Marie Gill who owed successful parlors turned prostitution hubs in 1970s Pittsburgh. Johanson, a cis white female will be playing Gill’s transgender character. Sanders and Johansson previously worked together on Ghost in the Shell, in which Johanasson (still a cis white female) played the Japanese female anime character.

Didn’t learn the first time, did you guys?

And because we have the internetsssss that provides for endless entertainment and tea, backlash about Johansson’s casting was deliciously instantaneous. However her response to said criticism, was not, saying: "Tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman's reps for comment."

*deep sigh before going ape shit*

Scarlett. girl. WYD?! her response refers to actors Tambor, Leto and Huffman who have all played transgender characters while they themselves were not transgender. But as my mom liked to say to me during my entire PG adolescence: “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you too?”

This is one of the LAZIEST, INSENSITIVE and most IGNORANT responses I have read. In a time where we are certainly getting more (but definitely not enough) LGBTQ stories such as Love, Simon and Call Me By Your Name, they are still played by white STRAIGHT characters. Her response is dismissive of the audience and the LGBTQ community who are trying to start a dialogue and educate her and other industry players who continue to see this type of casting as innocent. Yes, these actors did portray transgender characters. Did that make it right? HELL. NO.

Hollywood has evolved, which you ScarJo should know about since you participated in the #MeToo movement. As Hollywood has evolved in seeing women as human beings equal of salary and protection, so should you evolve when it comes to respecting an accurate portrayal of a character’s identity.

via mirror

there is absolutely nothing wrong with pulling out a film for the greater good. Full props and ovaries to white British Zaddy Ed Skrein, who gave up his Hellyboy reboot role because the character was of Asian heritage. “I accepted the role unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage. It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people and to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the arts”. continuing, “I feel it is important to honor and respect that.”

(NOTHING SEXIER THAN A WOKE MAN AMIRITE?!)

Of course ScarJo shouldn’t take all the blame. The industry, film company and casting team who decided it was better to cast Johansson instead of an actual transgender actor are equally at fault. However, ScarJo’s response exposes her unwillingness to do anything about it. ScarJo please take an empathy and sensitivity page from Ed Skrein.. Also boo boo, you’re financially set thanks to your Marvel movies. We’ll have spin offs with yo red wig for years to come.