The actress vowed to 'be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation.'
Halle Berry is apologizing after she recently revealed she was considering playing a transgender man in an upcoming film project. The Oscar winner took to Instagram on Monday to share a statement in which she addressed the backlash over her controversial remarks and promised to be a better ally.
"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," Berry shared in a statement.
"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 added.
Berry joined Christin Brown for an Instagram Live interview over the weekend, and she revealed that she'd recently been approached to play a trans character, and was excited by the possibility.
"[The role is] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man," Berry said at the time. "She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing."
The comments drew fire from critics who objected to Berry playing the character instead of hiring a trans actor for the role.
"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," Berry continued in her statement. "I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera."
Apart from her consideration of the role, Berry was also called out for using the wrong gender pronouns for the character during her Instagram Live conversation, and faced backlash for her attitude towards wanting to "experience that world" and "understand that world" for a film role.
It's unclear at this point what film Berry was referring to in the interview.
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