Halle Berry Apologizes for Considering Potential Role as Transgender Man

Halle Berry is apologizing after recently revealing she had considered playing a transgender man in an upcoming movie. The actress took to Instagram Monday to share a statement in which she promised to be a better ally after a wave of backlash prompted by that revelation.

“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.”

Berry thanked critics for their “guidance and critical conversation” over the last few days and promised to “continue to listen, educate and learn from this mistake.” The Oscar winner added, “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 John Wick actress revealed she had been approached to play a transgender character in a film project she didn’t name during an Instagram Live with Christin Brown over the weekend, saying she was excited at the 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.”

Berry’s apology was met with mixed reactions, including from people who were disappointed that she didn’t address using the wrong gender pronouns for the character and calling the project a “female story” during her initial conversation. “I appreciate your acknowledgement of this, but you should also apologize for referring to a trans man with she/her pronouns and it pronouns, and for calling a story about a trans man a female story,” one person responded on Twitter. “Those are dangerous remarks to make and to not acknowledge that is upsetting.”

Another person responded that Berry could have used her star power to help the film without starring in the main role. “Thank you for listening. Please help teach the people who follow you understand that trans men are not women,” they wrote. “Also, staying in the film and playing a cis woman while a trans man plays the part would be a great thing to do as an ally because your status will help boost the film.”