Home > Life > Digital Culture

Scarlett Johansson inspires memes after saying she should be able to play 'any tree'

'I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal...'

Nicole Gallucci

on July 15, 2019

This may come as a shock to some, but Scarlett Johansson has made yet another controversial comment about her career.

In a recent interview with As If Magazine, the Avengers star was discussing current trends in casting and on-screen representation when she said something a bit... odd.

"Today there’s a lot of emphasis and conversation about what acting is and who we want to see represent ourselves on screen. The question now is, what is acting anyway?" Johansson started.

When artist and interviewer David Salle replied, "Right. Who gets to play what roles…" Johansson said, "You know, as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job."

In the past, Johansson has been criticized for playing roles outside of her own race and gender identity. In 2017, she was hit with backlash for starring in Ghost in the Shell as a Japanese woman in a white woman's (android) body, and in 2018 she signed on to star as real-life massage parlor owner Dante "Tex" Gill, a transgender man, in Rub & Tug.

Mashable Trend Report

Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means.

By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Thanks for signing up!

After the Rub & Tug casting decision came under fire and transgender actors expressed their disappointment in Johansson's decision to accept the role, she eventually backed out of the project. But after reading her say that she feels she should be allowed to play any person, tree, or animal she wants to because she's an actress, many felt that Johansson hadn't learned anything from her past controversies.

Cue the Scar Jo tree and animal memes.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly by Johansson's rep, the actress said the interview as it’s been quoted "has been edited for click bait and is widely taken out of context."

"The question I was answering in my conversation with the contemporary artist, David Salle, was about the confrontation between political correctness and art," the statement read. "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. I recognize that in reality, there is a wide spread discrepancy amongst my industry that favors Caucasian, cis gendered actors and that not every actor has been given the same opportunities that I have been privileged to. I continue to support, and always have, diversity in every industry and will continue to fight for projects where everyone is included."

While Johansson may never get the golden opportunity to star as a tree, at least she has these memes to live vicariously through.

Topics Memes Celebrities

Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.