Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson: I do not want to edit my opinions

Johansson has provoked criticism for statements on casting in Hollywood films and the director Woody Allen.
Johansson has provoked criticism for statements on casting in Hollywood films and the director Woody Allen. Johansson has provoked criticism for statements on casting in Hollywood films and the director Woody Allen.

Scarlett Johansson has said she does not want to “edit herself” following a backlash against her comments on diversity in Hollywood and film director Woody Allen.

Johansson, a star of Marvel’s Avengers films, caused controversy when suggesting actors should not be restricted from taking certain roles.

Those comments followed an outcry over her casting as a transgender man in the film Rub & Tug.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Johansson said she will not censor her opinions.

“I’m not a politician, and I can’t lie about the way I feel about things,” she said.

“I don’t have that. It’s just not a part of my personality. I don’t want to have to edit myself, or temper what I think or say. I can’t live that way. It’s just not me.

“And also I think that when you have that kind of integrity, it’s going to probably rub people, some people, the wrong way. And that’s kind of par for the course, I guess.”

Johansson provoked further criticism in September when voicing her support for acclaimed director Allen, who has been shunned by much of Hollywood over resurfaced allegations of sexual abuse from his daughter, Dylan Farrow.

Allen, 83, vehemently denies the claims.

When asked if critics of her support for Allen may have “had a point”,  Johansson replied: “I don’t know – I feel the way I feel about it. It’s my experience.

“I don’t know any more than any other person knows. I only have a close proximity with Woody… he’s a friend of mine. But I have no other insight other than my relationship with him.”