People are furious at Scarlett Johansson for playing a trans man in a new film

4 July 2018, 12:17

By Woodrow Whyte

Sis, this is not a good look.

Scarlett Johansson latest casting as a transgender man in the film Rub & Tug has not gone down well with the internet and she's insisting that it's not problematic for her to play the role.

Rub & Tug tells the story of a transgender man, Dante “Tex” Gill, who owned a massage parlour in Pittsburgh’s underground sex industry in the 1970s. Many are questioning why Scarlett was cast in the role instead of a trans actor. When there is such low representation of trans actors, and even fewer opportunities to play trans characters, in the film industry many feel that her casting represents a missed opportunity to cast a trans actor.

Matters were made worse when a representative for Scarlett responded to the controversy with this statement to Bustle: "Tell them they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.” Tambor, Leto and Huffman have all previously played trans characters in critically-acclaimed films and TV shows.

The internet is obviously outraged by the representative's comments and Scarlett's decision to accept the role, especially following the controversy that surrounded her casting in Ghost In A Shell, in which Scarlett played a character who was Japanese in the original comic book. Both Rub & Tug and Ghost In A Shell are directed by Rupert Sands.

I mean...at this rate she might?

Do you think Scarlett should have passed on the role? Or should Rupert Sands be taking more responsibility for the casting choices in his film?