The act of “whitewashing” isn’t new in Hollywood, it’s been there since the industry began. From the controversial blackface in D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” to a very white Natalie Wood playing the Puerto Rican Maria in “West Side Story.” My two infamous examples of whitewashing would be the casting of legendary Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunoshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Rooney wore makeup and a prosthetic mouthpiece in his blatantly racist portrayal of Audrey Hepburn‘s arrogant and bitter Japanese neighbor. It has been rumored that Bruce Lee was so offended by the role that he walked out, not even midway through the film at a screening.
Another “hall-of-famer” in the whitewashing department would probably be Peter Sellers’ incredibly silly portrayal of Hrundi Bakshi in Blake Edwards‘ “The Party.”
However, with all that being said, the act of Whitewashing wasn't a controversial topic until more recently, what with social media et all. and last year's backlash of Scarlett Johansson‘s casting in her supposed-to-be Japanese “Ghost in the Shell” leading role was the definitive example of what could happen when an angry mob specifically targets a whitewashed casting.
Well, poor Scarjo seems to be in trouble again for wrongful cultural appropriation.
Portraying “Major Mira Killian” aka “Motoko Kusanagi," Johansson is now being accused of “ciswashing” for agreeing to play the part of real-life trans massage parlor owner Dante “Tex” Gill in the upcoming "Rub & Tug," which will be directed by, guess who, "Ghost in the Shell" director Rupert Sanders.
Johansson’s response to her detractors? “Tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman’s reps for comment.” Yikes.
The trans-twitter community isn't happy. They want her head.
The Twitter outcry.
