Latest news with #BlackWidow
The Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
My run-in with rude Scarlett Johannson still shocks me to this day… she may be worth £11bn but money can't buy manners
AS Scarlett Johansson was ushered up the red carpet looking breathtaking in a skin tight nude gown, crowds gasped and flashbulbs exploded in a frenzy as it became clear we were watching a star being born. In a sea of skinny starlets, she was refreshingly curvy, and her stunning looks were already drawing gushing comparisons with 1950's sex symbol Marilyn Monroe - but Scarlett was just 19 years old and nervous. 16 16 That was 20 years ago. Now the phenomenal success of Scarlett's latest action movie Jurassic World: Rebirth has sent the actress' earning power stratospheric - with her worldwide box office takings soaring to a staggering £11billion ($14.8bn). She surpassed Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. to become the biggest name in movies - largely thanks to having played Black Widow for 10 years in mega money blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame, Infinity War, The Avengers and Age of Ultron. It's an astonishing feat, but when I first met the actress as she was starting out in Hollywood she was, in my opinion, not prepared for the intense scrutiny that lay ahead. We had a painfully awkward encounter at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2004, where she was nominated for Lost In Translation, the 2003 role that first shot her to worldwide fame. I was reporting on the awards show for an American entertainment magazine, and about halfway through the ceremony I nipped away from the press area in the balcony to use the toilet. As I was washing my hands, Scarlett emerged from a cubicle behind me and our eyes met in the mirror. I smiled, but she did not smile back. I blurted out: "I love your dress!" In hindsight it was a pretty obvious thing to say, but I genuinely meant it. She looked fantastic. Scarlett Johansson corrects Today's Savannah Guthrie after host botches famous Jurassic Park line in awkward moment I looked away, and turned off the tap. But instead of giving a polite nod or simply saying, "Thanks," she glared back, slowly looked my plain black frock up and down, and asked with a sarcastic sneer: "Is this the part where I'm supposed to say I like yours?" I was too stunned to reply, and spent the rest of the evening wondering why on earth she would have even bothered to be so rude to a total stranger. Uncomfortable incidents 16 However, as the years have gone by there have been a steady stream of uncomfortable incidents involving the screen siren. She is now a 40-year-old mother-of-two and has the world at her feet, but continues to rub people up the wrong way. Her love life has been colourful, to say the least. She briefly dated Hollywood producer Jack Antonoff when they were at high school together, and in 2006 had a year-long fling with Pearl Harbour hunk Josh Hartnett, 46. Next she fell for heartthrob Ryan Reynolds, 48, who would become the first of her three husbands. They had only been dating for a year when it emerged they had tied the knot on Vancouver Island in September 2008 - but their marriage was over three years later, allegedly due to her workload. Scarlett swiftly moved on to movie executive Nate Naylor in 2011. By 2012 however, she had fallen for French journalist Romain Dauriac during a trip to Paris, and they married in a secret ceremony at a ranch in Montana in 2014. They had a daughter - Rose, now 10 - but that marriage was done and dusted after barely two years. There was a bitter custody battle over where Rose would live, and in a terse statement issued at the time Scarlett pleaded for privacy. She said: "Out of respect for my desires as a parent and out of respect for all working moms, it is with kindness that I ask other parties involved and the media to do the same." Yet she bounced back fast and was dating Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost by 2017. The pair tied the knot in New York in October 2020 and now have a three-year-old son called Cosmo. Sexy roles But it's not just Scarlett's tumultuous private life that has raised eyebrows. She has also complained about being typecast as a sex symbol. "I think women that are curvy can be pigeonholed in that bombshell thing,' she moaned. 'It's not like I actively look for sexy roles. 'It's not a requirement that my character be pretty and delicate. I never think about my character being sexy, unless that's written in." Earlier this year, in March, she grumbled about eager fans asking for photos with her. In an interview with InStyle magazine she revealed her strict policy for getting rid of unwanted admirers. 'It really offends a lot of people," she admitted. 'It doesn't mean I'm not appreciative, of course, that people are fans, or happy to see me. 'But I always say to people, 'I'm not working.' And that means I don't want to be identified as being in this time and place with you. I'm doing my own thing. 'I like to be in my own thoughts that have nothing to do with what other people think of me. I don't like being self-conscious.' Just last week Scarlett was caught shrieking at photographers while filming her new drama Paper Tiger. 'Move out the f*****g way,' she yelled, ushering a snapper away with her hand. 'I'm working.' Furious backlash Scarlett has also faced furious backlash for her outspoken opinions - including her consistent defence of controversial director Woody Allen over allegations of sexual abuse made by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. Scarlett starred in three of his most successful films - Match Point, Scoop, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona - and said in 2019: 'I love Woody and I believe him and I would work with him anytime. 'I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him.' Meanwhile other stars including Colin Firth, Mira Sorvino and Greta Gerwig said they regretted working with him, while Timothee Chalamet said he would donate his wages to charity. Scarlett was also accused of "whitewashing" Japanese manga art when she was cast as a cyborg in Ghost In The Shell in 2015. In the original animated films and video games her character was Asian, and more than 15,000 people signed a petition urging producers to replace her with an Asian actress. Scarlett defended herself, arguing: 'Acting goes through trends. "You know, as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job. 'There are a lot of social lines being drawn now, and a lot of political correctness is being reflected in art." She came under fire again in 2018 for arguing that a straight woman should be able to play trans characters - but amid a torrent of harsh criticism from the trans community she dropped out of her role in Rub and Tug. She had been set to play crime kingpin Dante 'Tex' Gill, who was born Lois Jean Gill but identified as a man, and used his massage parlours as a front for prostitution dens. A year later Scarlett admitted she had been insensitive. 'In hindsight, I mishandled that situation,' she said. 'I was not sensitive, my initial reaction to it. 'I wasn't totally aware of how the trans community felt about those actors playing and how they felt in general about cis actors playing transgender people. "I wasn't aware of that conversation, I was uneducated. So I learned a lot through that process. I misjudged that, It was a hard time. 'It was like a whirlwind. I felt terribly about it. To feel like you're kind of tone-deaf to something is not a good feeling.' Perhaps it's not as much fun as it sounds being universally admired as a sex bomb and hounded by adoring autograph hunters - but that evening in the ladies loo of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, I was simply being polite. And she should have done the same. 16
Japan Today
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
'Butter': The foodie feminist bestseller skewering sexism in Japan
Japanese author Asako Yuzuki's novel '"Butter" was inspired by the real-life story of "Black Widow" Kanae Kijima, who poisoned three men she met on dating sites. By Caroline GARDIN Japanese writer Asako Yuzuki did not expect her novel "Butter" to capture a cult following abroad, hailed as a biting feminist critique of sexism and body-shaming. Translated into English last year, the tale of murder and misogyny has whetted an insatiable appetite, selling 610,000 copies overseas, including 400,000 in Britain -- more than Japan -- where it won multiple awards. Yuzuki was inspired by the real-life story of "Black Widow" Kanae Kijima, a woman sentenced to death in 2012 for poisoning three men she met on dating sites. The sensationalized media coverage at the time largely focused on Kijima's appearance, speculating how someone described as homely and unattractive could be considered a femme fatale. Many credited her romantic success to her homemaking prowess -- notably in the kitchen. "When the case broke, the Japanese media mainly remembered that the suspect liked to cook and took classes ... to 'please men'," Yuzuki told AFP in an interview. "That deeply disturbed me." In "Butter", a journalist likewise disquieted by the portrayal of a Kijima-like character (renamed Kajii) writes to the jailed suspect, hoping to secure an exclusive interview by appealing to her gourmet tastes. Via a letter soliciting the beef stew recipe that Kajii reportedly fed her final victim, the pair begin an intimate and life-changing relationship. This proves a vehicle for Yuzuki to chew over the roots of misogyny in Japan, where traditional male and female roles still dominate and women are held to impossible beauty standards. In politics and boardrooms for example, women remain rare. Japan ranks 118 out of 146 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report. "Japan is a deeply patriarchal country. Very often, it is the father who occupies the central position within the family unit. This is the basis for laws even," Yuzuki said. Food -- particularly butter, that artery-blocking symbol of pleasure and excess -- forms the molten core of the story. Through sumptuous descriptions of butter-rich ramen and lavishly buttered rice, Yuzuki explores the tension between indulging appetites and the self-denial required to fulfill the societal pressure on women to stay thin. "There is an incredible amount of adverts for weight loss, cosmetic surgery and diets. This country is obsessed with fatphobia," Yuzuki said. It is also tough for women in Japan, where the #MeToo movement never really took off, to speak out about discrimination and sexual assault. Shiori Ito, a journalist who took the rare step of publicly accusing a prominent Japanese TV reporter of rape -- a charge he denies -- is a case in point. Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries", which was nominated for an Oscar, was not released in Japan because it used material recorded clandestinely or intended for judicial use only. "In other countries, especially the United States, from the beginning of #MeToo, many well-known journalists have seriously investigated these cases, and it is because this information was made public officially that the victims were able to be protected," Yuzuki said. But in Japan, "women who have had the courage to speak out are reduced to the role of activists and consumed by the media within that framework," she said. Another example is Masahiro Nakai, a boyband member and a star TV presenter accused of sexual assault. He initially disputed the facts and then apologized. The scandal shone a spotlight on the toxic culture of young women being pressed into attending dinners and drinking parties with powerful figures. "What strikes me is this uninterrupted chain of sexual violence, and especially that these are crimes committed within one organization, covered up by another organization... that of the media," Yuzuki said. Yuzuki is convinced that change can only come from outside. "When foreigners take up a topic, especially the English-language media, it completely changes the way it is perceived in Japan," she said. "If the European media" continue to be interested in these issues, then "the situation could perhaps change a little." © 2025 AFP
France 24
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
'Butter': the foodie feminist bestseller skewering sexism in Japan
Translated into English last year, the tale of murder and misogyny has whetted an insatiable appetite, selling 610,000 copies overseas, including 400,000 in Britain -- more than Japan -- where it won multiple awards. Yuzuki was inspired by the real-life story of "Black Widow" Kanae Kijima, a woman sentenced to death in 2012 for poisoning three men she met on dating sites. The sensationalised media coverage at the time largely focused on Kijima's appearance, speculating how someone described as homely and unattractive could be considered a femme fatale. Many credited her romantic success to her homemaking prowess -- notably in the kitchen. "When the case broke, the Japanese media mainly remembered that the suspect liked to cook and took classes ... to 'please men'," Yuzuki told AFP in an interview. "That deeply disturbed me." In "Butter", a journalist likewise disquieted by the portrayal of a Kijima-like character (renamed Kajii) writes to the jailed suspect, hoping to secure an exclusive interview by appealing to her gourmet tastes. Via a letter soliciting the beef stew recipe that Kajii reportedly fed her final victim, the pair begin an intimate and life-changing relationship. This proves a vehicle for Yuzuki to chew over the roots of misogyny in Japan, where traditional male and female roles still dominate and women are held to impossible beauty standards. In politics and boardrooms for example, women remain rare. Japan ranks 118 out of 146 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report. "Japan is a deeply patriarchal country. Very often, it is the father who occupies the central position within the family unit. This is the basis for laws even," Yuzuki said. 'Fatphobia' Food -- particularly butter, that artery-blocking symbol of pleasure and excess -- forms the molten core of the story. Through sumptuous descriptions of butter-rich ramen and lavishly buttered rice, Yuzuki explores the tension between indulging appetites and the self-denial required to fulfil the societal pressure on women to stay thin. "There is an incredible amount of adverts for weight loss, cosmetic surgery and diets. This country is obsessed with fatphobia," Yuzuki said. It is also tough for women in Japan, where the #MeToo movement never really took off, to speak out about discrimination and sexual assault. Shiori Ito, a journalist who took the rare step of publicly accusing a prominent Japanese TV reporter of rape -- a charge he denies -- is a case in point. Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries", which was nominated for an Oscar, was not released in Japan because it used material recorded clandestinely or intended for judicial use only. "In other countries, especially the United States, from the beginning of #MeToo, many well-known journalists have seriously investigated these cases, and it is because this information was made public officially that the victims were able to be protected," Yuzuki said. But in Japan, "women who have had the courage to speak out are reduced to the role of activists and consumed by the media within that framework," she said. Another example is Masahiro Nakai, a boyband member and a star TV presenter accused of sexual assault. He initially disputed the facts and then apologised. The scandal shone a spotlight on the toxic culture of young women being pressed into attending dinners and drinking parties with powerful figures. "What strikes me is this uninterrupted chain of sexual violence, and especially that these are crimes committed within one organisation, covered up by another organisation... that of the media," Yuzuki said. Yuzuki is convinced that change can only come from outside. "When foreigners take up a topic, especially the English-language media, it completely changes the way it is perceived in Japan," she said.
USA Today
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Colin Jost reacts to Scarlett Johansson kissing Jonathan Bailey
Colin Jost wants everyone to calm down. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the "Saturday Night Live" star, 43, said he was surprised by how much attention has been paid to his wife, Scarlett Johansson, 40, kissing her costar Jonathan Bailey, 37, on the lips while promoting their movie "Jurassic World Rebirth." "People really blow it out of proportion that someone kisses their friend hello," he said. "It's pretty nuts." The comedian also sarcastically joked that "of all the threats out there," he "wasn't thinking it was Jonathan," before quipping "it's going to be OK" and noting that Bailey "is an out gay man." Jost, who has been married to Johansson since 2020 and welcomed a child with her in 2021, also said that he and Bailey joked about the situation by asking each other, "I guess we have to kiss now? Is that what happens? Close the loop?" Johansson kissed Bailey on the lips on the red carpet at the London premiere of "Jurassic World Rebirth" on June 17 and again at the movie's New York premiere days later. See the photo: Scarlett Johansson, costar Jonathan Bailey kiss on lips When asked about the smooches on the "Today" show, the "Black Widow" actress said that Bailey "is a lovable guy" and "we're friendly people," adding, "I've got a lot of love to give. What can I say?" Bailey, meanwhile, told "Access Hollywood," "Life's too short not to be able to show your friends the true love. Embrace kissing the friends, I say!" Michael Che apologizes: The 'Weekend Update' anchor tells Scarlett Johansson he's sorry for crude 'SNL' joke swap "Saturday Night Live" is on summer break, but Jost speculated that while he's eager to stop talking about the story, his fellow "Weekend Update" anchor Michael Che may bring it back up in the fall. "I sense that perhaps with Michael Che, it might come back," Jost told Entertainment Tonight. "I don't need to get back into it, but he finds a way. Life finds a way."
Pink Villa
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Colin Jost Reacts to His Wife Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey's Passionate Red Carpet Kiss: ‘That's Pretty Nuts'
Colin Jost has to be the coolest husband. The SNL star reacted to his wife, Scarlett Johansson's passionate kiss with Jonathan Bailey, on the red carpet of the Jurassic World Rebirth premiere. In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight, Jost said that he did not expect the press around the film to go wild over a kiss between the co-stars, who are also good friends. The SNL star also joked that he did not expect to be attacked by the Bridgerton star. Jost and Johansson got married in 2020, and ever since, the couple has been a fan favorite. They are often seen pulling each other's leg and enjoying one another's company while in the public domain. Meanwhile, the SNL star was also quite supportive of his wife and her latest movie, Jurassic World Rebirth. Colin Jost's reaction to Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey's kiss While sitting down for an interview with the media portal, Colin Jost joked about his wife's kiss with Bailey. He said, 'I guess in Jurassic Park terms, the attack always comes from the raptor you never thought [of.] Of all the threats out there, I wasn't thinking it was Jonathan.' The comedian further added, 'People really blow it out of proportion. When someone, like, kisses their friend hello. That's pretty nuts.' Jost continued to state, 'Jonathan's an out gay man. It didn't seem like the biggest threat. Jonathan and I were like, 'I guess we have to kiss now? Is that what happens?' Close the loop!' Meanwhile, the Black Widow star and Bailey made headlines at the premiere event of their movie and the fourth installment of the Jurassic World franchise. The actress, who was dressed in a light pink gown, went on to kiss her co-star on the red carpet. However, later in an interview with the Today Show host Craig Melvin, Johansson clarified that the act was just the proof of their friendship. She shared, 'He's a lovable guy, what can I say?' The Marvel actress also spoke about the internet reactions to the kiss. Scarlett Johansson said, 'Nothing surprises me, you know what I mean?' Jurassic World Rebirth is running in cinema halls.
