Trevor Noah responds to Scarlett Johansson's representation comments

‘For so long, Hollywood and the people who define storytelling in America have defined it as stories to be told for and by white people’

Late-night host Trevor Noah has responded after Scarlett Johansson claimed she should be able to play “any person, or any tree, or any animal”, amid an ongoing debate about representation in the arts.

The Avengers star later clarified her intention with the statement: “The question I was answering in my conversation with the contemporary artist, David Salle, was about the confrontation between political correctness and art.”

“I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness. That is the point I was making, albeit didn't come across that way.”

Appearing on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show this week, Noah began by commenting that Johansson “has a record for coming under fire for playing roles that people have said could go to other minority groups”.

He gave the example of her controversial role in Ghost in the Shell, where she played a Japanese character in the anime adaptation.

Noah also mentioned Johansson's recent decision not to play Dante Tex Gill, a real-life trans figure, in the feature film Rub & Tug.

“I understand why you might want to get defensive as a person,” he said. “I can even understand why some white people might feel like they're under attack in and around these conversations. But I think what's often lost is when Scarlett goes, 'I should be allowed to play an animal or a tree or anything,' and it's like, yes, but that's exactly what people are saying.

“For so long, Hollywood and the people who define storytelling in America have defined it as stories to be told for and by white people. And so the roles that have generally been reserved for black people have been the stereotype of criminal, maid, slave. That's pretty much it.”

“We take for granted how much representation means to human beings, I think in two ways” he continued. “One: in an inspirational front, and two: just how it shapes society.” Noah used an example of Muslims being associated with terrorists, and how that idea is “propagated by Hollywood” due to the nationalities that typically portray terrorists on screen.

“You'd think that a place that considers itself so liberal would try to find a place to represent people. There are middle Eastern stories that run the gamut,” he pointed out. “There's a show on Hulu called Rami, it shows you what it's like to be a Muslim family living in America. It's authentic, and those stories are so important, not in a charity way, but in a 'great TV, great stories, great inclusivity' kind of way.”

Noah ended the segment by commenting that Johansson didn’t appear to understand that people were not making an attack on her, rather they were pointing out that she has the “luxury” of choosing any type of role, while others are stereotyped and pigeon-holed to a limited number of roles.