“I should be allowed to play any role”: Scarlett Johansson Regretted Accepting Controversial Role That Nearly Got Marvel Star Cancelled from Hollywood

Scarlett Johansson is truly a phenomenon in the industry. Having begun her career as a child actor, the Black Widow star has only kept on adding plaudits to her long list of achievements. But under the sparkle of her career, there is a sore spot indeed. There has been the odd controversy, the one-off decision she shouldn’t have made. One such decision was accepting a role that she would later regret.

Scarlett Johansson was cast in a Trans role

Scarlett Johansson was set to essay the role of Dante “Tex” Gill
In 2018, reports that Scarlett Johansson would be cast as the protagonist in Rub and Tug made headlines. The movie, which would be directed by Rupert Sanders, would portray the tale of a trans man, Dante “Tex” Gill.

Gill ran massage parlors which acted as a cover-up for a lucrative s-x work operation in the 70s and 80s. Quite the story, indeed. Fate had other things in mind, though. The movie would not see the light of the day. The reason? Scarlett Johansson.

Courting a controversy

Scarlett Johansson found herself in the eye of a controversy
News that the Marriage Story star would be playing the role of a trans was met with swift backlash from trans people, who questioned if there were not enough trans actors out there that she was chosen for the role.

In an absolute brain fade, her reps released a statement, which said,
“Tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment. (all of them had played trans characters previously).”
The move did not sit well with fans.

Scarlett Johansson was left with no option but to quit

Scarlett Johansson would regret being associated with the role
The backlash that followed left no choice for Johansson other than to resign. The Lucy star would say that despite all the controversy, she was
“thankful that this casting debate, albeit controversial, has sparked a larger conversation about diversity and representation in film.”
The ghosts of the role would still haunt her for years. The following year, the 38-year-old would point out that political correctness should not “affect the art because I feel art should be free of restrictions.”