‘I vow to be an ally’: Halle Berry pulls out of transgender film role after backlash

Actor was in discussions for a part in a mystery project

Halle Berry has turned down the opportunity to play a transgender man in forthcoming film after facing an online backlash.

The Catwoman star was criticised after revealing in an Instagram live interview on Friday (3 July) that she had been preparing for the mysterious role.

“[It’s] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man,” said Berry. “She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing.”

Berry was called out for misgendering the character multiple times during the interview.

“Who this woman was is so interesting to me, and that will probably be my next project,” she said.

On Monday night (6 July), Berry publicly apologised and pulled out of the project, saying: “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 also said she will use her voice to promote better representation in the film industry, adding: “I vow to be an ally.”

In recent years, many cisgender actors have caused controversy by playing transgender characters. Scarlett Johansson was cast to play the lead role of a transgender man in Rub & Tug in 2018, but she exited the film one week later after a backlash.

In 2016, Eddie Redmayne faced criticism for playing one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment surgery in The Danish Girl, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination.