--- title: Scarlett Johansson Talks 'Ghost in the Shell' Whitewashing description: Find out what Scarlett Johansson said about the "Ghost in the Shell" controversy, a role for which she has been accused of "whitewashing." canonical: https://time.com/4662477/scarlett-johansson-talks-ghost-in-the-shell-whitewashing/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-07T16:49:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:42.306Z og:title: Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out About 'Whitewashing’ Role og:description: She finally addressed the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ controversy og:url: https://time.com/4662477/scarlett-johansson-talks-ghost-in-the-shell-whitewashing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a51b15a1c9afdb/6988b917428a9e72f9cd5c68/scarlett-johansson-ghost-shell-whitewashing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Women's March on Washington - Rally og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out About 'Whitewashing’ Role twitter:description: She finally addressed the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ controversy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a51b15a1c9afdb/6988b917428a9e72f9cd5c68/scarlett-johansson-ghost-shell-whitewashing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out About 'Whitewashing’ Role > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=b4ce2be3-ff37-49fd-a30c-aa19279e40f8&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Feb 7, 2017 4:49 PM UTC  Scarlett Johansson speaks onstage during the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Scarlett Johansson speaks onstage during the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi—WireImage by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Feb 7, 2017 4:49 PM UTC [Scarlett Johansson](http://motto.time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/), the [highest-grossing actress of all time](http://motto.time.com/4389407/scarlett-johansson-highest-grossing-actress/), has found herself in the center of a controversy with her new role in _Ghost in the Shell,_ a coming remake of a classic Japanese anime film_._ Now, she’s speaking out about [being accused of “whitewashing”](http://time.com/4297950/scarlett-johansson-ghost-shell-whitewashing/) for taking on the role of an Asian character. “I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive,” Johansson [told _Marie Claire_](http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a25191/scarlett-johansson-march-2017-cover/) for its March cover story. “Also, having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity. Certainly, I feel the enormous pressure of that — the weight of such a big property on my shoulders.” She also revisited the topic of the wage gap, something she has previously [been hesitant to discuss.](http://motto.time.com/4285970/scarlett-johansson-wage-inequality/) “Some people felt I should talk about my personal struggle in order to shed a spotlight on the greater issue,” Johansson said. “Maybe I’m being presumptuous, but I assumed it was obvious that women in all positions struggle for equality. It’s always an uphill battle and fight.” But she does think that celebrities should speak up about the causes they believe in. “It is really important to hear people in various positions of power voice their opinions, their story,” she said. “Why can’t I use my platform? What’s the point of having it if you don’t use it? If you don’t want to get involved, please, the noise is loud enough. But if you’ve got something to say, say it.” \[[_Marie Claire_](http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a25191/scarlett-johansson-march-2017-cover/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4662477/scarlett-johansson-talks-ghost-in-the-shell-whitewashing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4662477/scarlett-johansson-talks-ghost-in-the-shell-whitewashing/"},"headline":"Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out About 'Whitewashing’ Role","datePublished":"2017-02-07T16:49:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:42.306Z","description":"She finally addressed the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ controversy","url":"https://time.com/4662477/scarlett-johansson-talks-ghost-in-the-shell-whitewashing/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a51b15a1c9afdb/6988b917428a9e72f9cd5c68/scarlett-johansson-ghost-shell-whitewashing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a51b15a1c9afdb/6988b917428a9e72f9cd5c68/scarlett-johansson-ghost-shell-whitewashing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Women's March on Washington - Rally","caption":"Scarlett Johansson speaks onstage during the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Paul Morigi—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4662477/scarlett-johansson-talks-ghost-in-the-shell-whitewashing/","name":"Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out About 'Whitewashing’ Role"}}]}] ```