Throughout her Hollywood career, Scarlett Johansson has been genuinely sexualized within the confines of the movies and beyond. The receptive world has blatantly categorized the actress with terminologies like “sexiest woman alive” or objectified her for having a “pretty behind”. But even after her visible discomfort and multiple protests, people showed no signs of stopping, especially not when turned on by her male MCU co-stars.
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Scarlett Johansson faces the oversexualization of Hollywood
In the months leading up to the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, the cast of the MCU film went on an extensive press and promotion tour to rally fans ahead of the team-up film’s launch. Often described as tedious work, interviews to date show the MCU cast joking and joking around to keep tours light and fun. But as tedious as the schedule can be for the cast, they’re always present – physically and mentally – throughout the tour, having been paired with co-stars to build excitement via interviews.
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But that stopped being fun when, in 2015, actors Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans, who play Hawkeye and Captain America respectively in the MCU, nonchalantly joked about Black Widow’s inclination to seduce and charm and the have qualified as “sl*t” and “a complete whore”. The comments, although made in jest and with no intention of hurting Scarlett Johansson, were still damaging as they set a precedent for interviewers, reporters, magazines and tabloids to expand the discussion and enter dangerous territory that violates the Johansson’s private life and totally disrespect him as a person.
Outside the peripheries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, actor Robert Downey Jr. has been seen coming to the rescue of co-star Scarlett Johansson when the latter faced insensitive and sexist comments while on tour. Marvel press or on comic book panels. But, ironically, in-universe, it was RDJ iron man 2 (2010) which launched her character and established her as an objectifiable person when Tony Stak asserted “I want one” after seeing her for the first time.
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Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner apologize for insensitive remarks
This wasn’t news for Scarlett Johansson, who plays SHIELD agent, spy and assassin, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow when the interview aired. In fact, it only added to the endless list of frustrating and humiliating objectifications she had endured at the hands of Hollywood, her co-stars, the paparazzi and the global public.
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But factions of the crowd spoke up and pointed to the grossly indecent and inhumane remarks of Evans and Renner, following which both actors immediately took responsibility and issued official statements apologizing to the co- MCU star. A day after the interview, Chris Evans said –
“Yesterday we were asked about the rumors that Black Widow wanted to be in a relationship with Hawkeye and Captain America. We responded in a very juvenile and offensive way that legitimately irritated some fans. I regret that and I sincerely apologize.”
Jeremy Renner also issued a similar apology saying: “I’m sorry that this tasteless joke about a fictional character offended anyone. It wasn’t meant to be serious in any way. Just poking fun during an exhausting and tedious press tour.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is available to stream on Disney+.
Source: Digital Spy
