Scarlett Johansson caught in casting tussle

Actor criticised for playing transgender man in upcoming Rupert Sander project

Scarlett Johansson is once again at the center of what is shaping up to be another casting controversy.

Re-teaming with her Ghost in the Shell director Rupert Sanders, Johansson is set to star in a feature called Rub & Tug – a true-life story of Jean Marie Gill who was assigned female at birth. She later assumed the identity of a man, Dante “Tex” Gill and operated a massage parlour and prostitution business in Pittsburgh in the 1970s and 1980s, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

PHOTO: FILE

When news of the project broke this week, online commentators began to criticise Johansson for choosing to play a transgender man, arguing that the role should have gone to a transgender actor in the first place. Johansson said in a statement, “Tell them they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.”

Her reported response references other cisgender actors who have played transgender characters — and while their performances have all won awards, they have not all been without controversy.

PHOTO: MARIE CLAIRE

Huffman was Oscar-nominated for playing a transgender woman in 2005’s Transamerica and Leto won a supporting actor Oscar for playing another transgender woman in 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club. Tambor was awarded two Emmys for playing a transgender woman in the series Transparent but has left that show after being accused of sexual harassment, which he has denied.

Giving voice to some of the criticism of the casting that has begun to appear on Twitter, #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign called for Johansson to step away from the role, tweeting, “Scarlett Johansson is not hurting for money.

PHOTO: ENEWS

She is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is about to get her own film Black Widow. She is also a well-established actress so she doesn't need the increased profile. So why would she take work away from a trans actor? #OscarsSoWhite."

Johansson’s critics are also pointing to the fact that she received similar hatred and was accused of “whitewashing” when she took the lead role in 2017’s Ghost in the Shell, playing a character who was Japanese in the original manga series.

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