Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; Wilson Webb/Scott Rudin Prods/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Benedict Cumberbatchis reflecting on controversy surrounding his role in the 2016 comedyZoolander 2.
While speaking with Penélope Cruz forVariety’s “Actors on Actors"series, Cumberbatch addressed backlash to being cast as a nonbinary character named All in the Ben Stiller-directed sequel. Cumberbatch admitted he would not be put in the role today. Cruz, 47, starred as Valentina Valencia in the film opposite Stiller and Owen Wilson.
“But it backfired a little bit. But it was lovely to meet you in that brief moment and to work with Ben and Owen,” he told Cruz.
When atrailerforZoolander 2debuted back in November 2015, apetitionfrom LGBTQ activists spoke out about the character and the jokes surrounding their gender, calling for a boycott.
“… By hiring a cis actor to play a nonbinary individual in a clearly negative way, they film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large,” they added.
Benedict Cumberbatch.P. Lehman/Barcroft Media via Getty
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Justin Theroux, who co-wrote the movie, responded to the trailer backlash at the time, saying the moment was out of context.
“I don’t even know what to make of it, because it hurts my feelings in a way,” he toldThe Wrapabout the boycott at the time. “I take great care in the jokes I write, and the umbrage being taken is out of the context of the scene. I wish people would see the movie first. Satire is a thing that points out the idiots, and we went through it onTropic Thunderwith the ‘R’ word.”
“The goal was not to mock or be cruel to the mentally challenged, but exalt in the stupidity of people who use that word. I’m all for letting words be ugly when the target is correct,” Theroux added about his 2008 comedyTropic Thunder. “With social media and all the rest of it, people’s issues need to be heard … at the end of the day people are looking for bandwidth. People are looking for places to inject their voice. But our target is not, and never was, to disenfranchise anyone.”
source: people.com
