We haven’t heard a lot from Scarlett Johansson lately, besides the semi-recent news of her engagement to SNL‘s Colin Jost. However, in a new interview with As If Magazine, ScarJo opened up about how she feels about acting today—and what she had to say is proving deeply controversial.
The arts and fashion magazine had artist David Salle, who’s no stranger to controversy himself, interview Johansson, and he asked her about her recent experiences in the industry.
“I don’t know if there’s a trend in performance, but there’s certainly trends in casting right now,” she said. “Today there’s a lot of emphasis and conversation about what acting is and who we want to see represent ourselves on screen. The question now is, what is acting anyway?”
In her view, acting is the ability to take on “any” role at any time—whether it falls within the bounds of political correctness or not. “You know, as an actor, I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job,” she told As If Magazine.
“There are a lot of social lines being drawn now, and a lot of political correctness is being reflected in art,” Johansson continued in her As If interview. “…I feel like it’s a trend in my business and it needs to happen for various social reasons, yet there are times it does get uncomfortable when it affects the art because I feel art should be free of restrictions.”
Johansson added, “I understand how it’s harder for some, and we all have our own experiences. I think society would be more connected if we just allowed others to have their own feelings and not expect everyone to feel the way we do.”
It’s a controversial take on a hot topic in Hollywood right now as people call for casting directors to end the problematic whitewashing of scripts and characters, as well as for roles featuring characters from a minority or marginalized community to be portrayed by actors who are members of that community. Johansson didn’t elaborate about which roles she might be referring to in her As If interview, but she’s twice claimed roles that led to controversy.
Last June, Johansson pulled out of the film Rub & Tug, after she had been cast to play Dante Tex Gill, a trans man. “In light of recent ethical questions surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project,” she said at the time, according to the The Hollywood Reporter.
Two years earlier, in 2016, there was massive backlash when Johansson starred as the lead character in the film adaptation of the Japanese anime hit, Ghost in the Shell. Many believed the role would have been better played by a Japanese actress to more accurately reflect the anime character the movie was based on.
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