It’s 4th of July week right in the middle of the week and that means the news cycle is dead, which also means it was the worst possible time for Scarlett Johansson to announce she’s playing a trans man in a new movie and then lash out at the backlash in the worst possible way. It started when The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that ScarJo would be teaming up again with Ghost in the Shell director Rupert Sanders for a film called Rub and Tug, “a drama about a real-life transgender massage parlor owner.” The LGBTQ community was not happy about the announcement, obviously, and when Bustle reached out to Johansson’s agent for comment, she said, “Tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.” Invoking Jeffrey Tambor as your defense at this moment in time is some kind of something.
Jen Richards has repeatedly, eloquently laid out the arguments for why hiring cis people to play trans roles is harmful to trans people; she re-upped her most popular Twitter thread on it yesterday.
https://twitter.com/SmartAssJen/status/1014332117298262016
It’s infuriating and honestly kind of unbelievable that we’re still having this conversation!
Here’s what else on this slim news week:
Over at Paper: Janet Mock on why Pose is so “deeply revolutionary.”
Syd’s coming back to One Day at a Time!
Riverdale‘s Ashleigh Murray and The Flash’s Candice Patton chatted with Shadow and Act about the racist reactions they’ve received because of their characters.
Lauren German, who played Buried Gay Leslie Shay on Chicago Fire feels the same way about Kate McGrath that you do.
https://twitter.com/LaurenGerman/status/1013970116210380800
Wynonna Earp will be at San Diego Comic-Con again this year.
Vulture wants to know where all the celebrities are in The Handmaid’s Tale?
Mara Wilson knows why lesbians love Matilda.
It was one of the few children’s films to show a strong, resilient female character overcome adversity and a family that did not understand her to create her own family and her own happiness through hard work and friendship.
Also, they all have crushes on Miss Honey. https://t.co/E69yR3pfmG
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWilson) June 27, 2018
Claws has been renewed for a third season!
Shadow and Act breaks down the diversity stats from the latest Nielsen study.
55 essential queer horror films. (I’ll have to take your word for it.)
