Trace Lysette Gets Death Threats After Criticizing Scarlett Johansson

After news came out earlier this week that Scarlett Johansson will be playing a transgender man in an upcoming film project, the internet understandably lost its cool. Notable transgender actors like Jamie Clayton and Trace Lysette joined countless other LGBTQ people in crying foul at yet another trans role going to a cisgender actor.

Related | Scarlett Johansson is Playing a Transgender Man in Her Next Film

"Actors who are trans never even get to audition FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN ROLES OF TRANS CHARACTERS," tweeted Clayton, saying it was time that trans actors were allowed equal footing and taken seriously when auditioning for non-trans roles.

"So you can continue to play us but we can't play y'all? Hollywood is so fucked," tweeted Lysette. "I wouldn't be as upset if I was getting in the same rooms as Jennifer Lawrence and Scarlett for cis roles, but we know that's not the case. A mess."

Later Lysette revealed her outspokenness had resulted in death threats, tweeting: "Death threats for being trans and speaking my mind... nothing new."

Johansson, for her part, did not handle the criticism well, saying upset parties "can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman's reps for comment," in a statement to Bustle. The three mentioned are cisgender actors who have played trans in the past, essentially using the "I didn't start it" argument here as an adult in 2018.

Johansson was also criticized of whitewashing a role in 2017's Ghost in the Shell, where she played the lead character in the film who was originally Asian in the popular 90s anime series it was based off of.