Scarlett Johansson Faces Backlash for Upcoming Transgender Role

Scarlett Johansson is once again under fire for taking a controversial role. The 33-year-old actress dismissed those who say that it’s problematic for her to play a transgender man in the upcoming film Rub & Tug.

“Tell them they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comments,” Johansson said to Bustle via her representative.

Rub & Tug tells the story of a transgender man, Dante “Tex” Gill, who owned a massage parlor in Pittsburgh‘s underground sex industry in the 1970s, according to Vice News. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter describes Gill as “a woman who succeeded in Pittsburgh’s 1970s and 1980s massage parlor and prostitution business by assuming the identity of a man.” Other publications like Vulture have described Johansson’s character as a “trans masculine crime boss.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the real-life Gill a lesbian “who dressed like a man in suits and ties, wore short hair and sideburns and preferred to be called ‘Mr Gill.’” The Post-Gazette‘s obituary for Gill details that “she may even have undergone the initial stages of a sex change that made her appear masculine.”

Johansson’s latest choice in movie role has drawn criticism on social media, with many wondering why a transgender man was not cast for the role.

“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,” one user tweeted. “Scarlett Johansson needs to stop naively choosing roles, and studios need to do better.”

“No offense to Scarlett Johansson but there are many beautiful trans women in the world, and I MEAN MANY…so ask Hollywood to keep looking!” someone said.

“I cannot get over how selfish Scarlett Johansson is,” another person wrote.

Some joked that the Marvel superstar may think that she is Mystique, an X-Men character who can transform into anybody. “does scarlett johansson think that she is mystique,” the person asked.

Another Twitter user suggested that Johansson’s portrayal of a transgender character is similar to portraying a character of a different ethnicity. “My sources have told me Scarlett Johansson will be playing Michelle Obama in Quentin Tarantino’s new film,” the person wrote.

“A trans man should have been cast instead of Scarlett Johansson and it doesn’t surprise [me] she took the role,” someone else said.

Fans were also quick to pick up on the fact that Rub & Tug will be directed by Rupert Sanders, the same man who directed Johansson in Ghost in the Shell, which also received its fair share of criticism for casting Johansson as a Japanese manga character.

Johansson’s rep was likely referring to transgendered roles played in recent years by Tambor (Transparent, 2014-2018), Leto (Dallas Buyers Club, 2013) and Huffman (Transamerica, 2005). Hilary Swank also won an Oscar in 2000 for Boys Don’t Cry.