Halle Berry Forfeits Her Upcoming Role As A Trans Man Following Backlash

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Halle Berry was at the receiving end of a ton of backlash this weekend over her announcement that she was considering  a role where she would play a trans man in an upcoming movie. She’s no longer taking the part.

Members of the LGBTQ community called out the actress after she made some ignorant comments during a recent Instagram Live interview. During a conversation with hairstylist Christin Brown, Berry discussed her preparation for a role that would have her portraying a trans man.

“[It’s] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man,” Berry said, according to Pink News. “She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing.”

Beside the obvious problematic-ness of Halle playing a trans character in the first place, critics were also quick to point out Berry’s misgendering of the character she was potentially going to portray.

Following the public outcry, Halley Berry did a quick 180 and decided that, just as the LGBTQ community pointed out to her, she shouldn’t be the one to play a trans character. She issued a statement announcing that she would not be taking the role and never should have considered it in the first place.

“Over the weekend I had the opportunity to discuss my consideration of an upcoming role as a transgender man, and I’d like to apologize for those remarks,” Berry posted to Twitter. “As a cisgender woman, I now understand that I should not have considered this role, and that the transgender community should undeniably have the opportunity to tell their own stories,” she wrote. “I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and will continue to listen, educate and learn from this mistake. I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera.”