Actor Henry Cavill, aka “Superman,” may have met his real-life kryptonite: the #MeToo movement.
The star of Warner Bros.’ “Justice League” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” has apologized to angry fans for comments he made on courtship to GQ Australia. The celebrity said that #MeToo brings with it an assortment of unintended consequences, which make on-set romances near impossible.
“Stuff has to change, absolutely,” he told the magazine for a July 10 interview. “It’s important to also retain the good things, which were a quality of the past, and get rid of the bad things. There’s something wonderful about a man chasing a woman. There’s a traditional approach to that, which is nice. I think a woman should be wooed and chased, but maybe I’m old-fashioned for thinking that.”
The “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” star added that it was preferable to him to call ex-girlfriends than chance it with colleagues who might falsely label him a “rapist.”
“It’s way safer than casting myself into the fires of hell, because I’m someone in the public eye, and if I go and flirt with someone, then who knows what’s going to happen?” he said.
Negative feedback prompted an apology to the New York Post’s “Page Six” on Thursday.
“Having seen the reaction to an article in particular about my feelings on dating and the #metoo movement, I just wanted to apologize for any confusion and misunderstanding that this may have created,” he told the newspaper. “Insensitivity was absolutely not my intention. In light of this I would just like to clarify and confirm to all that I have always and will continue to hold women in the highest of regard, no matter the type of relationship, whether it be friendship, professional, or a significant other. … I look forward to clarifying my position in the future towards a subject that is so vitally important and in which I wholeheartedly support.”
“Mission Impossible — Fallout,” which stars Tom Cruise, premiers July 27.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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