Scarlett Johansson says her words 'taken out of context', after backlash over diverse casting comments
Scarlett Johansson says comments she made on the "authentic casting" debate have been taken out of context and asserts that she supports diversity in film.
The actress came under fire in 2017 for playing an Asian character in Ghost in the Shell and cancelled plans last year to portray a transgender man in the upcoming film Rub & Tug, after transgender actors and advocates questioned the casting.
In a recent interview with As If magazine, she said actors should be allowed to play any person "because that is my job and the requirement of my job."
Johansson said Saturday that those comments were subsequently edited in other publications for "click bait."
“An interview that was recently published has been edited for click bait and is widely taken out of context,” she said in a statement.
“The question I was answering in my conversation with the contemporary artist, David Salle, was about the confrontation between political correctness and art.
"I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness. That is the point I was making, albeit didn’t come across that way.
"I recognize that in reality, there is a wide spread discrepancy amongst my industry that favors Caucasian, cisgender actors and that not every actor has been given the same opportunities that I have been privileged to."
