LONDON -- Angry viewers have launched a petition calling for a boycott of Zoolander 2, following last week's release of the movie's long-awaited trailer.
The clip, which sees Derek Zoolander and Hansel re-enter the fashion industry a decade after their big-screen debut, has come under fire for its portrayal of the "biggest supermodel in the whole world" -- an androgynous character named All, played by an eyebrow-less Benedict Cumberbatch.
The petition, which was started by Sarah Rose, says that the movie's "cartoonish mockery" of androgyne, transgender and non-binary individuals can lead to "harmful" perceptions of the LGBT+ community.
"This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority," Sarah Rose writes. "If the producers and screenwriters of Zoolander wanted to provide social commentary on the presence of trans/androgyne individuals in the fashion industry, they could have approached models like Andreja Pejic to be in the film. By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, the film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large." ("Cis," or cisgender, refers to a non-transgender person.)
At time of publishing, over 9,000 people had signed the petition, which has a goal of 10,000.
Reactions to the petition have been mixed, with some suggesting that the film's critics are being "pre-offended" while others support the campaign.
like really - cumberbatch's role in zoolander 2 looks SUPER transphobic??? i'm really bummed out now— a literal bunny (@lyingkitten) November 18, 2015
See this 'Zoolander 2 is transphobic' business? I'm throwing it out of court, I'm the judge and the case is dismissed, it's not.— Pope George Ringo (@AdamPasifull) November 23, 2015
@robbiereviews I mean, I can imagine ways in which the portrayal could be offensive. But everyone seems to be getting pre-offended here.— Tom Chivers (@TomChivers) November 23, 2015
If you look the otherway at Zoolander 2's transphobic bullshit just because you like Benedict Cumberbatch you are disgusting.— Ａｎｄｒｅａ律 (@andrearitsu) November 23, 2015
Nice to see zoolander 2 will throw some transphobic jokes, very cool, thanks hollywood— smug Hazama (@valkyrienoboken) November 18, 2015
ugh, is that Zoolander 2 trailer transphobic?— Jessica Tripler (@JessicaTripler) November 18, 2015
Zoolander 2 hits theaters Feb. 12.