Angelina Jolie Playing A Woman Of Color, Emma Stone Playing An Asian Woman, And 13 Other Times Celebs Faced Backlash For Their Controversial Casting

Featuring Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, James Corden, and more.

One of the many problematic aspects of Hollywood is the fact that too often, marginalized people are portrayed by non-marginalized, rich, slightly out of touch actors. PSA to casting directors: There are plenty of marginalized actors ready to ace these roles!

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So without further ado, here are 15 times celebs got themselves into hot water for the roles they took on:

1. Helen Mirren — who is not Jewish — recently faced backlash for playing Golda Meir, Israel's former prime minister, in the upcoming 2022 movie Golda.

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"It was certainly a question that I had before I accepted the role," Helen told the Daily Mail. "I said, 'Look Guy [Nattiv, the film's director], I'm not Jewish. And if you want to think about that and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand.'" She continued, "But he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went."

2. Scarlett Johansson was called out for whitewashing after she played the Asian character Motoko Kusanagi in the 2017 film Ghost in the Shell.

Paramount Pictures

“I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive," Scarlett told Marie Claire.

3. And Scarlett again faced backlash in 2020 for agreeing to play Dante "Tex" Gill, a trans man, in Rub & Tug.

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After being called out, Scarlett told Bustle that detractors should "direct [their attention] to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman's reps for comment." She apologized for that comment, telling Vanity Fair, "In hindsight, I mishandled that situation. I was not sensitive in my initial reaction to it. I wasn’t totally aware of how the trans community felt about [Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman] playing — and how they felt in general about cis actors playing —transgender people."

4. Dakota Johnson was recently criticized for "disability erasure" after being cast as Madame Web, a blind, elderly woman able to predict the future.

Marvel / Fox Kids / Via youtube.com

5. Benedict Cumberbatch faced criticism for his portrayal of a nonbinary character in Zoolander 2.

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"There was a lot of contention around the role, understandably now," Benedict told Variety in a recent interview. "I think in this era, my role would never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor," he said. "But I remember at the time not thinking of it necessarily in that regard and it being more about two dinosaurs, two heteronormative cliches not understanding this new diverse world. But it backfired a little bit."

6. Eddie Redmayne, who is cisgender, was heavily criticized for playing a trans woman in the 2015 movie The Danish Girl.

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"I wouldn’t take it on now," Eddie told the Sunday Times. "I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake.”

7. Emma Stone was also called out for whitewashing for portraying Allison Ng, a Chinese, Hawaiian, and Swedish character in the 2015 film Aloha.

Columbia Pictures

"I’ve learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It’s ignited a conversation that’s very important," Emma told News.com.au.

8. James Corden, who is straight and married to a woman, faced backlash for his "stereotypical" and "offensive" portrayal of Barry Glickman, a gay man in the 2020 film Prom.

Netflix

James did not respond to the backlash but he did receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

9. And in 2018, another straight man, Jack Whitehall, was set to play the first openly gay Disney character in The Jungle Cruise.

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Whitehall did not respond to the backlash. He did end up playing the role of MacGregor Houghton and though the character was implied to be gay, the movie did not specifically state it.

10. Jared Leto, who is cis, was criticized for his portrayal of Rayon, a trans woman, in the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club.

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When Jared was heckled by a trans activist at the 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Awards about the controversial casting, he said, "Because I’m a man, I don’t deserve to play that part?” as reported by the Hollywood Reporter. “So you would hold a role against someone who happened to be gay or lesbian — they can’t play a straight part? Then you’ve made sure people who are gay, people who aren’t straight, people like the Rayons of the world would never have the opportunity to turn the tables and explore parts of that art.”

11. Johnny Depp faced criticism for his portrayal of a Native American man in the 2013 film The Lone Ranger.

Walt Disney Pictures

"Since cinema has been around, Native Americans have been treated very poorly by Hollywood. What I wanted to do was play Tonto not as a sidekick — like, 'Go fetch a soda for me, boy!' — but as a warrior with integrity and dignity. It's my small sliver of a contribution to try to right the wrongs of the past," he said to Indian Country Today. 

12. Jake Gyllenhaal was criticized for playing a Persian man in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010.

Walt Disney Pictures

Reflecting on the controversial role, he said to Yahoo Entertainment, “I spend a lot of time trying to be very thoughtful about the roles that I pick and why I'm picking them."

13. Elizabeth Taylor sparked controversy with her portrayal of Cleopatra, the titular role in the 1963 film.

FOX / Via youtube.com

Elizabeth never commented on the controversy. 

14. Kevin McHale was in hot water for his portrayal of Artie Abrams, a character who uses a wheelchair in Glee.

FOX / Via youtube.com

Kevin has not commented on the controversy or apologized.

15. And lastly, Angelina Jolie was criticized for her portrayal of journalism icon Mariane Pearl, who has Afro Chinese Cuban and Dutch ancestry, in the 2007 movie A Mighty Heart.

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Angelina has never apologized or commented on the backlash.

What do you make of these castings and the actors' apologies? Let me know in the comments below!