Hollywood's transgender community has applauded actress Scarlett Johansson's decision to withdraw from a project on a trans man after she courted backlash for taking on the role.
Johansson announced that she was exiting Rub & Tug, a film in which she was set to star as Dante Tex Gill, a transgender man.
The actress issued a statement, saying she had "decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project" following ethical concerns about her participation as a cisgender actress.
"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," she added.
Transgender actors, filmmakers, artistes and activists, who were at The Hollywood Reporter's office here for a discussion about representation in the entertainment industry, lauded her decision.
"You are awesome," said Buck Angel, with others expressing relief that the public outcry on behalf of the trans community had been heard and acted upon.
"Scarlett deciding to pull out was a good example of listening to the community and that was the right thing to do," said Rhys Ernst, an Emmy nominated producer and director known for his work on Transparent, This is Me and the upcoming feature Adam.
Rub & Tug tells the story of Dante 'Tex' Gill who operated a massage parlour and prostitution business in Pittsburgh in the 1970s and 1980s. When the project was announced on July 2 with Johansson on board, there was an immediate backlash online, both on social media and in various news outlets. The consensus was that the role should have gone to a trans performer, The Hollywood Reporter reported.