LOS ANGELES – Trying to hold back tears of appreciation, Scarlett Johansson lavished praise on the transgender community today for totally screwing her out of the lead role in the upcoming movie Rub & Tug, where she’d be playing trans man Dante Tex Gill.
“I’d like to personally extend my gratitude and thanks to the transgender community for the intense backlash over my recently announced role,” the A-list celebrity stated at a press conference held this afternoon. “Thanks to their finely tuned moral outrage, not only did I lose a lucrative job, but the entire production of this movie is now in jeopardy.”
“After days of facing top-notch shaming tactics, I’m happy to announce my forced resignation from a much anticipated movie role,” Ms Johansson stated. “It was truly insensitive of me to think I could play a character in a film, like I’ve done countless times before.”
Transgender activist Laverne Cox told reporters that Scarlett Johansson dropping the role is a huge win for social justice, gender equality and inclusivity. “We’re very happy to see an overrepresented straight celebrity pushed out of a film role that every trans person is jealous they didn’t get. It took a lot of whining, moral grandstanding and tweeting in all caps, but it feels great and well deserved,” Ms Cox stated.
“All actors should be considered equally and fairly for every role,” GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis stated, “unless they have an identity that’s different from the fictionalized character they’re portraying.”
To avoid future controversies, Scarlett Johansson will reportedly only take roles depicting characters who are are straight, white female actors.