Halle Berry Criticized For Looking At Being Cast As Transgender Man In New Film
Image via Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
Halle Berry has apologized to her fans after receiving backlash for considering taking up a role of a transgender male in an upcoming film.
Speaking in an Instagram Live chat before the controversy, the actress revealed to host Christin Brown that she was considered for a role 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 continued.
She also told Brown she wanted to “deep dive” into the role because “who this woman was, [was] so interesting” to her and she might be required to chop off all her hair. She also insisted that she wanted to “experience that world” and “understand that world,” which probably referred to the trans community.
“That’s what I want to experience and understand and study and explore. 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,” Berry said.
Her comments led to a mass backlash, including the attention of transgender activist Serena Dianari, who took to Twitter to call the actress out. She also criticized Berry for incorrectly categorizing the character’s story as a “female” one.
“It absolutely is not a female story, it is a story about a man. And why is the aspect of physical transition the focal point of her,” Dianari voiced out. “Cis people’s understanding of trans issues is really miopic. Girl watch Disclosure on Netflix.”
Berry took to Twitter to address the criticisms and apologized for her earlier statement. She also admitted that she should not have “considered the role” in the first place.
“As a cisgender woman, I now understand that I should not have considered this role, and that the transgender community should undeniably have the opportunity to tell their own stories,” she said in a statement. “I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera.”
LGBTQ rights organization GLADD acknowledged Berry’s post and was pleased with the actress’ response. “We are pleased that Halle Berry listened to the concerns of transgender people and learned from them. Other powerful people should do the same,” it tweeted.
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 7, 2020
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
We are pleased that @halleberry listened to the concerns of transgender people and learned from them. Other powerful people should do the same. A good place to start is by watching @Disclosure_Doc to learn about trans representation in media. https://t.co/SAxSvXxbk3
— GLAAD (@glaad) July 7, 2020
Halle Berry on playing a trans man in her next movie: “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.”
— Serena Daniari (@serenajazmine) July 6, 2020
Cis actors need to stop doing this.
It absolutely is NOT a female story, it is a story about a man. And why is the aspect of physical transition the focal point for her? Cis peoples' understanding of trans issues is really myopic. Girl watch Disclosure on Netflix.
— Serena Daniari (@serenajazmine) July 6, 2020
So, Halle Berry is planning to play a trans man in an upcoming film, and the first red flag is she keeps using "She/Her" pronouns to refer to this trans man (makes it clear she means FTM). https://t.co/dDUzioEQGu
— Laura Kate Dale (@LaurakBuzz) July 6, 2020
Why do we have to have this same fucking conversation every god damn summer?
— Crystal Frasier (@AmazonChique) July 6, 2020
Trans roles aren't cosplay for bored cis actors fishing for easy awards from other tonedeaf cis people. We are under unprecedented public attack and this shit. Isn't. Helping.https://t.co/1dn25nWqJX
halle berry talking about the trans man character she's playing like "understanding this woman is so important to me" jfc i hate how trans guys are infantilised and how cis women treat us
— korviday ¹³¹² (@korviday) July 6, 2020
[via Variety, opening image via Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com]
