Scarlett Johansson on Friday withdrew from the film "Rub & Tug" after her plans to portray a transgender man prompted a backlash.
In a statement to Out.com on Friday, Johansson said she's pulling out from the project "in light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting." Last week, Johansson said she would star as Pittsburgh 1970s and '80s prostitution ring leader Dante "Tex" Gill, who was born Lois Jean Gill but identified as a man.
In this April 23, 2018 file photo, Scarlett Johansson arrives at the world premiere of "Avengers: Infinity War" in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
When transgender actors and advocates questioned the casting, Johansson initially responded with a statement that criticism "can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman's reps." All are cisgender actors who won acclaim for playing transgender characters.
"Our cultural understanding of transgender people continues to advance, and I've learned a lot from the community since making my first statement about my casting and realize it was insensitive," said Johansson, who added that she had "great admiration and love for the trans community."
This 1979 photo shows transgender man Dante "Tex" Gill, flanked by masked Frank Cocchiara, left, and Donna Potts while leaving the Public Safety Building in Pittsburgh, Pa. Actress Scarlett Johansson has pulled out of the film “Rub & Tug” after her plans to portray Gill prompted a backlash. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
"While I would have loved the opportunity to bring Dante's story and transition to life, I understand why many feel he should be portrayed by a transgender person, and I am thankful that this casting debate, albeit controversial, has sparked a larger conversation about diversity and representation in film," the actress added.
Johansson previously came under fire for playing an originally Asian character in the 2017 film "Ghost in the Shell." That film's director, Rupert Sanders, was set to also helm "Rub & Tug."
It's not clear if the film, which Johansson was also producing, will go forward. A representative for Johansson didn't respond to an email Friday. A spokesman for New Regency, which was set to produce "Rub & Tug," said it's uncertain what will happen with the film.
Some critics have argued that trans roles should be played by trans actors. Last week, numerous trans actors responded to Johansson's casting as another sign of a lack of opportunity for trans actors.
"Actors who are trans never even get to audition for anything other than roles of trans characters," Jamie Clayton, a transgender actress who stars in Netflix's "Sense8." ''That's the real issue. We can't even get in the room."
Jen Richards, trans activist and creator of the web series "Her Story," praised Johansson for stepping down.
"If you're tired of hearing about it, you can't imagine how tired trans actors are of talking about it," Richards said on Twitter. "We just want to work. And with more trans and nonbinary people, of all kinds, participating, the work will be a better and richer representation of our world. This is a win."
GLAAD, formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said in a statement: "Scarlett Johansson's announcement, together with the transgender voices who spoke out about this film, are game changers for the future of transgender images in Hollywood."
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s Republican-led Legislature completed a last-ditch effort Thursday to revive a bill to regulate transgender people’s use of bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories in public education buildings.
Lawmakers pushed the proposal through the House and Senate in the final days of their four-month session after negotiations between the chambers broke down Monday on an earlier proposal. Republicans said they received a flurry of messages urging them to bring the bill back to life.
“This probably, to a lot of our constituents and to a lot of people in this chamber, is probably the most important bill that we brought up,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby, a Republican.
The legislation would require all public education institutions to equip their buildings with single-sex restrooms, changing areas and dormitories.
People would only be allowed to enter spaces that correspond to their sex assigned at birth, regardless of their appearance or any procedures they've had to affirm their gender identity. Those who violate the policy could be sued, but schools, colleges and universities would be protected from liability.
Democrats said the bill would put transgender people at risk. They also criticized Republicans for spending time on the issue as other legislative priorities remained unfinished.
"It just baffles me that we have things we can do to improve the state of Mississippi for all people, for all people, but we get so pumped on something that's national politics," said Rep. Jeffrey Hulum III, a Democrat. “It is not my job to criticize how people live their lives.”
Republicans said they were standing up for female family members on college campuses and pointed to several Republican women, wearing red, as they looked on from the Senate gallery.
One of those women was Anja Baker, a member of the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women from the Jackson suburb of Rankin County. Baker said she works with social service providers and was concerned women would be crowded out of spaces they rely on.
“They only have so many resources, and they need to have their locations and resources protected for the women that need them instead of getting caught in a game of identity politics,” Baker said.
Advocacy groups emailed her and other Republican women late Wednesday urging them to show up Thursday at the Capitol. That came after an initial measure mandating single-sex spaces stalled, causing an embittered back-and-forth between top legislators.
Just before a Monday night deadline, the House offered a plan that would let people file lawsuits seeking monetary damages if someone uses a bathroom not assigned to their gender, said Senate Judiciary A Committee Chairman Brice Wiggins, a Republican. Wiggins said that made it an unacceptable “trial lawyer bill."
House Judiciary A Committee Chairman Joey Hood, also a Republican, said the Senate forced the House into accepting a weaker proposal. The bill would let people sue, but they would be unable to claim compensatory damages from any lawsuit. As a result, Hood and other House members said the bill they ultimately approved would likely fail to deter people from entering spaces that don't align with their sex assigned at birth.
Hood said he hopes the Legislature would introduce legislation in 2025 with stronger penalties.
Another proposal failed this year that would have denied the legal recognition of transgender people by writing into law that “there are only two sexes, and every individual is either male or female.”
In 2021, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls’ or women’s sports teams. Last year, he signed a bill to ban gender-affirming hormones or surgery for anyone younger than 18.
The Mississippi proposals were among several bills being considered in state legislatures around the country as Republicans try to restrict transgender people’s access to gender-affirming care, bathrooms and sports, among other things.
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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.
Mississippi State Rep. Fabian Nelson, D-Jackson, asks for a clarification on a bill to regulate transgender people's use of bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories in public education buildings, before the House at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Rep. Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, asks a question regarding a bill to regulate transgender people's use of bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories in public education buildings, before the House at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Rep. John Faulkner, D-Holly Springs, asks a question on a bill to regulate transgender people's use of bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories in public education buildings, before the House at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Rep. Joey Hood, R-Ackerman, explains a bill to regulate transgender people's use of bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories in public education buildings, before the House at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, holds a folder with files for the Senate Rules Committee, in the Senate Chamber at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Sen. Bradford Blackmon, D-Canton, asks a question in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, addresses the legislators in the Senate Chamber at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, gestures while speaking at the well before the body in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi State Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, gestures while speaking at the well before the body in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
A group of Republican women from throughout the state watch procedures in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
