--- description: The petition for boycott says Benedict Cumberbatch's character is a "cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals." title: Benedict Cumberbatch's 'Zoolander 2' Character Causes a Stir image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte84e90fbd59ef5ca/6988719dab6d77858f6a731a/zoolander-2-trailer.png?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Zoolander 2_ Faces Boycott Over Benedict Cumberbatch's Character by [Tim Stack / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Tim Stack / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2015 10:55 PM CUT  Paramount Pictures by [Tim Stack / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Tim Stack / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2015 10:55 PM CUT _Zoolander 2_ doesn’t arrive in theaters until next year but its [recently released trailer](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/18/zoolander-2-trailer "undefined") is creating a bit of a stir. An [online petition created by Sarah Rose is urging for a boycott of the Ben Stiller film](http://www.thepetitionsite.com/549/222/494/ "undefined") because of a new character played by _Sherlock_ star Benedict Cumberbatch, a supermodel named “All.” [Rose](https://twitter.com/MaybeSarahRose "undefined") writes, “In the _Zoolander 2_ trailer, an androgynous character played by Benedict Cumberbatch is asked by Zoolander and Hansel if he is a ‘male or female model,’ and if they ‘have a hot dog or a bun.’ Additionally, Cumberbatch’s character is clearly portrayed as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals. This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority.” So far, Rose’s petition has more than 5,800 signatures. Paramount Pictures did not respond to EW’s request for comment. _Zoolander 2_ is out on Feb. 12\. Check out the trailer above. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/20/zoolander-2-transphobia-boycott "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4123247/zoolander-2-boycott/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4123247/zoolander-2-boycott/"},"headline":"Zoolander 2 Faces Boycott Over Benedict Cumberbatch's Character","datePublished":"2015-11-20T22:55:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:49:22.733Z","description":"'Cartoonish mockery' of trans individuals angers advocates","url":"https://time.com/4123247/zoolander-2-boycott/","keywords":["movies","Benedict Cumberbatch","Transgender"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte84e90fbd59ef5ca/6988719dab6d77858f6a731a/zoolander-2-trailer.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tim Stack / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte84e90fbd59ef5ca/6988719dab6d77858f6a731a/zoolander-2-trailer.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"zoolander-2-trailer","caption":"Zoolander 2 Trailer","creditText":"Paramount Pictures","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":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4123247/zoolander-2-boycott/","name":"Zoolander 2 Faces Boycott Over Benedict Cumberbatch's Character"}}]}] ```