Halle Berry is facing criticism after declaring her interest to play a transgender person role in a new film. She is now under fire for sharing her wish to portray the character.
This popular actress has recently attended a new Instagram Live interview with the hairstylist Christin Brown. In that interview, she revealed that previously she was preparing for a role in which she’d portray a transgender man. She said, “[It’s] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man.”
In addition, Berry explained. “She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing.” She plainly stated, “This project got pitched to me right when I was on the brink of making Bruised and making my directorial debut and I so was in the mindset of getting in the body to play that… But this got pitched to me, and I thought, after I do this movie, that’s the character I’m going to play.”
Halle Berry mentioned that she wants to do a “deep dive” into “that world,” seemingly referring to the trans community. She continued, “Who this woman was is so interesting to me, and that will probably be my next project, and that will require me cutting all of my hair off.” She claimed that the movie was a “female story” and she thinks it is “important” to share.
However, Berry’s interest in the potential role drew backlash. Because many people think that the role should go to a trans person.
Trans activist Serena Dianari shared on Twitter, “It absolutely is NOT a female story, it is a story about a man. And why is the aspect of physical transition the focal point for her? Cis peoples’ understanding of trans issues is really myopic. Girl watch Disclosure on Netflix.”
Emmy Zje explained the potential harm for playing the role, “One more thing @halleberry, thanks so much for listening. Trans men are men, not women. Trans women are women, not men. Nonbinary people aren’t their gender assigned at birth. They’re non-binary,” she shared. “These tropes saying otherwise are dangerous for trans people and get us killed.”
Ari Drennen stated, “Please don’t play a transgender character; there are so many talented trans actors trying to get their break in Hollywood and as a cis woman this is not your story to tell—especially since you misgendered the character right off the bat.”