Johansson quits trans drama after backlash

Johansson quits trans drama after backlash

NEW YORK

Scarlett Johansson has pulled out of the film “Rub & Tug” after her plans to portray a transgender man prompted a backlash.

In a statement to Out.com on Friday, Johansson says she’s withdrawing from the project “in light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting.” Last week, Johansson said she would star as prostitution ring leader Dante “Tex” Gill, who was born Lois Jean Gill but identified as a man.

When transgender actors and advocates questioned the casting, Johansson initially responded with a statement that criticism “can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman’s reps.” All are actors who won acclaim for playing transgender characters.

Johansson previously came under fire for playing an originally Asian character in the 2017 film “Ghost in the Shell.”

Woman charged with hacking Selena Gomez’s email

LOS ANGELES

A woman has been charged with 11 felonies stemming from the hacking of the email of Selena Gomez and one of the singer’s associates.

Los Angeles County prosecutors said Friday that 21-year-old Susan Antrach of Ridgefield Park, N.J., has been charged with five identity-theft counts, five fraud counts and one count of accessing and using data without permission. The charges are felonies that collectively could get her nearly 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege Antrach accessed the accounts of the 25-year-old Gomez and the unnamed associate several times in 2015 and 2016, and also posted private media from the accounts online.

Antrach has not entered a plea. Prosecutors did not know if she has hired an attorney who could comment, and no phone listing could be found for her.

Okla. town doubles in population for Woody

OKEMAH, Okla.

Woody Guthrie’s Oklahoma hometown has doubled in population as thousands gather for a music festival in honor of the “This Land Is Your Land” singer.

The Journal Record reports that the town of Okemah jumps from about 3,000 to 6,000 people during the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.

Performers this year include Grammy winner Jason Mraz, Oklahoma’s Turnpike Troubadours, and Annie Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie.

Festival organizer Kay Thompson says it brings music fans from around the world to Okemah, about 70 miles east of Oklahoma City. This is the festival’s 21st year.

Associated Press