Scarlett Johansson has taken herself out of a role where she was to play a transgender gangster, the BBC reported Friday.
The actress was set to play Dante “Tex” Gill — a Pittsburgh crime boss who was born a girl named Jean Grill — in the 1970s period piece “Rub & Tug.” However, LGBT activists besieged Johansson for her decision to take the role instead of leaving it open for a transgender actor. The controversy eventually prompted her to take herself off the project.
Johannsson originally defended her right to the role, issuing a statement to Bustle magazine that other actors have played transgender characters successfully, and her role would be no different. That was too logical to last long in the face of liberal bullying, though, and Johansson has backed down.
“I’ve learned a lot from the community since making my first statement,” Johansson told Out Magazine.
“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.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]A claim by an ex-Scientologist on Megyn Kelly Today on Wednesday elicited a sharp response from “Avengers” actress Scarlett Johansson.
Former Scientologist Brendan Tighe, who says he was once required to sign a “Billion-Year Contract” with the group’s infamous Sea Organization before he left six years ago, told NBC host Megyn Kelly that in his role as security guard for the cult, he had a lot of contact with some big names, including one of the organization’s most high-profile promoters, Tom Cruise.
As Yahoo Entertainment highlights, among Tighe’s many “bizarre stories” about Cruise, including those who came in frequent contact with him being required to get their teeth whitened, was an alleged church-conducted search for a replacement significant other for Cruise after his marriage with Nicole Kidman dissolved in 2001.
Tighe told Kelly that he accidentally came upon evidence of the church’s alleged attempts to “audition” Cruise’s next girlfriend. Reports on the girlfriend search, he said, were mistakenly sent to his printer.
“The only [name in the reports] I recognized was Scarlett Johansson,” he told Kelly. “That particular report said [the attempt] didn’t go well. And that another actress, Erika Christensen [co-star of “The Perfect Score”], had to disconnect from Scarlett Johansson because that didn’t go well.” – READ MORE
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