It was announced on Saturday that Scarlett Johansson was stepping away from the role of Dante ‘Tex’ Gill in Rupert Sanders’ Rub & Tug, which elicited a collective sigh of relief from everyone who knows that ScarJo is not the right person to play someone who may have identified as a trans man.
However, that relief was short-lived when the Australian LGBTQ community woke up on Sunday morning to a transphobic slur in that day’s paper, because apparently wanting one day without offensive nonsense was asking too much.
CW: T slur
Hey, @dailytelegraph What the FUCK made you think this was an acceptable thing to print? pic.twitter.com/R4JjuIJFZD
— Sav Emmett Wolfe?️? (@TimesNTroubles) July 15, 2018
In an exclusive statement to Out.com about her decision, Johansson said:
“I have great admiration and love for the trans community and am grateful that the conversation regarding inclusivity in Hollywood continues. 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.”
That statement has her sounding significantly more conciliatory than her original statement, in which her rep suggested critics ask Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment as well, did.
Authenticity of her interest in diversity in film aside, stepping down from the role is the bare minimum she could have done, and she did it, so let’s move on.
Except we can’t because the media decided to make things worse rather than, you know, better.
Violating one of the principal rules of reporting when it comes to trans issues, a wire story was given the headline “Scarlett dumps t***y film role”. I naively thought everyone learned that word wasn’t acceptable a long time ago, particularly those who work in the media who have a responsibility to report on issues sensitively.
That’s like the NUMBER ONE BASIC RULE in the @VEOHRC media guide for reporting on gender identity.
Back to school for the Daily Telegraph pic.twitter.com/BXZMu08PwT— Jo Hirst (@thegenderfairy1) July 15, 2018
The online version of the article doesn’t include the slur, but does suggest that she was ‘forced’ to step down (forced by who? the LGBT illuminati?) rather than choosing to do so after a period of self-reflection.
Anything to make those militant trans people sound intimidating and all-powerful, I guess!