Last week in an Instagram live interview, Halle Berry mentioned that she had been preparing for a role as a trans character. After backlash from the trans community, Berry has now announced that she will no longer be considering the role, Variety reports.
In the original interview with hairstylist Christin Brown, Berry discussed how interested she was in the trans male character’s story–though she misgendered the character multiple times. “[It’s] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man. She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing,” Berry said. “It’s really important to me to tell stories, and that’s a woman, that’s a female story – it changes to a man, but I want to understand the why and how of that. I want to get into it.”
Berry’s comments were criticized by many online, and for some proved how important it was to give trans actors the opportunity to tell trans stories. The makers of the Disclosure documentary on Netflix responded in a tweet imploring Berry to watch and understand the issues the documentary exposes in the entertainment industry.
Hi @halleberry, we heard you’re considering playing a trans man in your next project. We ask that you please watch @Disclosure_Doc on @netflix first to understand how cis actors like yourself acting in trans roles has major cultural consequences offscreen. #DisclosureNetflix
— Disclosure Documentary (@Disclosure_Doc) July 6, 2020
Halle Berry has now tweeted a statement apologizing for her remarks, and stating that she would no longer be considering the role.
“I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and I will continue to listen, educate, and learn from this mistake,” she wrote, which was acknowledged by LGBT media monitoring body GLAAD.
Daniel Radcliffe has recently spoken out in support of trans rights, in response to a number of transphobic statements tweeted by author JK Rowling (which unfortunately doesn’t seem to have stopped her.)
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