53-year-old Halle Berry is not a newcomer in the entertainment industry. Halle Berry is an award-winning actor who has starred in popular movies: Kingsman: The Golden Circle, John Wick, X-men, Catwoman and many others.
On Friday, 3rd of July, in an Instagram live chat, Halle Berry mentioned that she had been preparing for a role as a transgender man in an upcoming film although she had not been cast yet. Berry said, “[It’s] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man. She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing,” Variety reports. She added that she wanted to take a “deep dive” into “that world,” likely referring to the trans community.
Variety adds that Berry faced backlash online after misgendering the character a couple of times during the interview.
On Monday, 6th July 2020, she announced on Twitter that she is no longer considering the role.
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 7, 2020
“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 in the apology. “I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and I will continue to listen, educate and learn from this mistake”
GLAAD responded to Berry’s apology saying: “We are pleased that Halle Berry listened to the concerns of transgender people and learned from them. Other powerful people should do the same. A good place to start is by watching Disclosure Documentary to learn about trans representation in media.”
