A year has already passed since Scarlett Johansson got a lot of heat along with director Rupert Sanders over their adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Now, the pair is again facing backlash for their current project.
Deadline reported the news on Monday that New Regency won at the auction for Rub & Tug, a movie based on a true story. The film is about Dante “Tex” Gill who prospered in the prostitution and massage parlor business in the 1970s and the 1980s in Pittsburgh.
In the film, Johansson will play the role of Gill, a transgender man born as Lois Jean Gill. After the news came out, backlash arose quickly at the very idea that Johansson would play the role of a transgender man.
When asked to make a comment on the public’s reaction to the role she will play in Rub & Tug, Johansson’s rep responded quite flippantly. Apparently, her rep told Bustle that these people may direct their comments to Jared Leto, Felicity Huffman, and Jeffrey Tambor’s reps.
This comment completely disregarded the fact that casting transgender actors for a transgender role creates lesser opportunities for all the trans actors out there.
