Halle Berry pulls out of transgender role after social media backlash

Hollywood actor Halle Berry has backed out of a film in which she was supposed to play a transgender person. The actor resorted to the decision after the news led to a backlash on social media.

The 53-year-old actor had spoken about the role during an Instagram Live interview. "(The film is about) a character where the woman is a trans character, so she's a woman that transitioned into a man," Berry said in the interview with hairstylist Christin Brown. "She's a character in a project I love that I might be doing."

Right after the announcement, Halle was crticised by people on social media, who pointed out the issues of cisgender actors playing transgender roles. 

Berry apologised on Monday night and tweeted that she was no longer considering the role. “Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to discuss my consideration of an upcoming role as a transgender man, and I’d like to apologize for those remarks. 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,” she wrote on Twitter.

“I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and 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,” the actor said.

In the past, other cisgender actors have played trans characters such as Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club and Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl.