Just when the last mess was quieting down, Scarlett Johansson has dug herself into a new hole, this time centering on Woody Allen. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which focused on her upcoming projects including potential Oscar frontrunner Marriage Story, she was asked about her previous collaborations with Allen and whether she’d work with him again. Her response? “I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
She went on to say that “I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. I have been very direct with him, and he’s very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him … It’s hard because it’s a time where people are very fired up, and understandably. Things needed to be stirred up, and so people have a lot of passion and a lot of strong feelings and are angry, and rightfully so. It’s an intense time.”
Johansson has once more shown a distinct lack of respect for anyone who is not her. She cannot say that “things need to be stirred up” and that people are “rightfully” angry before turning around and saying that she does not believe women when it comes to Allen. There’s a contradiction there that just doesn’t work out, because how can you claim to believe women and then selectively choose what to and to not believe?
Allen has never been convicted of the sexual abuse he’s long stood accused of. This is true. But Allen’s behavior towards Dylan Farrow, Soon-Yi Previn, and others points towards a consistent misogyny in his works and a predatory attitude towards women in general. His movies have been shelved by Amazon, though European audiences have embraced them. Actors such as Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Hall have apologized for working with Allen, though others have said they would still work with him again.
Johansson is just another actor who is prioritizing an artist over the people he has allegedly hurt. It doesn’t matter that Allen is seen as a great director, what matters is that he allegedly sexually abused minors. That should take precedence over your career or what you think of his movies, and if Johansson really believed that things need to be stirred up and that the #MeToo movement is understandable, then she should take a stand here.
Johansson is also in the middle of filming her first and only standalone Marvel movie, as well as beginning an Oscar campaign for Marriage Story. You think she would know better than to once more invite controversy with statements like this, but after her whitewashing comments, this sadly doesn’t surprise me. She has shown time and again that her privilege matters more to her than taking a stand.
Ultimately, this is a disappointment but not a surprise. Johansson continuously proves herself to be privileged and uncaring, and I dread what new hell the Black Widow press tour will bring.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: Marvel)
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