Scarlett Johansson blames a ‘bunch of dudes’ in Hollywood for ‘hyper-sexualized’ image

Scarlett Johansson told fans this week that a “bunch of dudes” in Hollywood should be blamed for her “hyper-sexualized” image over the years.

Marvel Studios’ Black Widow told The Hollywood Reporter this week that her image was “crafted” by male power players in the industry.

“I was very hyper-sexualized,” she said Wednesday of her early career. “I guess at the time seemed okay to everyone. It was another time. Even though it wasn’t part of my own narrative. It was kind of crafted for me by probably a bunch of dudes in the industry. And I guess that worked then. It was really difficult for me to try to figure out how to get out of being an ingénue or the other woman, because it was never anything that I had intended.”

Ms. Johansson — who posed for Esquire’s “Sexist Woman Alive” photoshoot in 2013 — told THR that she considered searching for a “more fulfilling” job within the industry, although six years ago she described her decisions as a “bloodless” calculation to avoid roles as a mother. 

“Why accept the title Sexiest Woman Alive if everything is so busy just now?” Esquire asked at the time.

“I’m the only woman to win it twice, right?” she replied. “You know, I gotta hustle. I’m a twenty-eight-year-old woman in the movie business, right? Pretty soon the roles you’re offered all become mothers. Then they just sort of stop. I have to hedge against that with work — theater, producing, this thing with Esquire. Sounds pretty bloodless, I guess.”