Award-winning actress Halle Berry has come under a lot of pressure on social media since her last Instagram Live video over the weekend. The evergreen beauty icon intended to play a transgender man in an upcoming movie and people were just not having it.
Berry, 53, took to Twitter Monday to apologize for considering taking up the role in the first place after seeing the major backlash her IG Live received.
“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.
“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. I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera.”
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 7, 2020
Thankfully, her apologies have been welcomed by the masses and many thanked her for not ignoring their concerns. LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD said they were happy Berry heard their plea. “Other powerful people should do the same,” the group said on Twitter. “A good place to start is by watching @Disclosure_Doc to learn about trans representation in media.”
Representation is key and Netflix’s critically acclaimed documentary almost exhaustively explored trans characters in TV and film throughout the years. Many have hailed it for such a piece in these times when transgender people have been attacked openly.
The Twitter account of the documentary urged Berry to watch the film in order for her to “understand how cis actors like yourself acting in trans roles has major cultural consequences offscreen.”
After her apology on Monday, @Disclosure_Doc wrote: “We hope #DisclosureNetflix is one of many educational tools you and others can rely to inspire and strengthen allyship.”
Berry took the high road with this open apology as it has deepened conversations on why representation matters.
