Scarlett Johansson quits trans role after LGBT backlash

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has dropped out of a role in which she was going to play a transgender man following a backlash from the LGBT community.

The actor exited the drama film "Rub and Tug" a little more than a week after her casting sparked backlash amid trans groups and activists.

"In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project. Our cultural understanding of transgender people continues to advance, and I've learned a lot from the community since making my first statement about my casting and realise it was insensitive.

"I have great admiration and love for the trans community and am grateful that the conversation regarding inclusivity in Hollywood continues. According to GLAAD, LGBTQ+ characters dropped 40 per cent in 2017 from the previous year, with no representation of trans characters in any major studio release," Johansson told Out Magazine in a statement.

"Rub and Tug" focused on Dante Tex Gill, a crime kingpin who used his massage parlour as a front for prostitution in the '70s and '80s. Gill lived his life as a trans man, which led many on social media to wonder why a trans actor was not tapped for the role.

"Oh word?? So you can continue to play us but we can't play y'all? Trace Lysette, a transgender actress best known for appearing on Amazon's "Transparent," wrote on Twitter after the casting announcement.

"Actors who are trans never even get to audition FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN ROLES OF TRANS CHARACTERS," tweeted Jamie Clayton, another transgender actress known for her role on "Sense8."