Halle Berry issues apology after backlash for saying she 'might' play a transgender male

Halle Berry was the target of online outrage over the weekend, after revealing on Instagram Live that she ‘might’ be playing the role of a transgender male in an upcoming film. 

But the 53-year-old actress took to Twitter on Monday evening to apologize for her ‘remarks’ and admitted that she should have not ‘considered this role’ in the first place. 

‘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,’ said Berry in her statement.

‘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. 

‘I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera,’ concluded the Catwoman star.

In the controversial Instagram Live chat uploaded Friday, Halle revealed to host Christin Brown that she was being considered for ‘a character where the woman is a trans character, so she’s a woman that transitioned into a man.’

‘She’s a character in a project I love that I might be doing.’

Berry’s admission came about after she was asked by Brown whether or not she would return to her iconic pixie cut anytime in the near future. 

Halle said that she wantws to ‘deep dive’ into the role because ‘who this woman was is so interesting to [her] and ‘will probably be [her] next project’ 

She added: ‘And that will require me cutting all of my hair off.’

Although she insisted that she wantws to ‘experience that world’ and ‘understand that world,’ Halle failed to use the correct gender pronouns when describing the potential character. 

‘That’s what I want to experience and understand and study and explore… it’s really important to me to tell stories, and that’s a woman, that’s a female story – it changes to a man, but I want to understand the why and how of that. I want to get into it,’ said Berry.

But Transgender Activist, Serena Dianari, openly criticized Berry on Twitter for incorrectly categorizing the transgender male character’s story as a ‘female’ one.

‘It absolutely is NOT a female story, it is a story about a man. And why is the aspect of physical transition the focal point for her?’ tweeted Dianari, who implied that being transgender is more than just a change of haircut.

‘Cis peoples’ understanding of trans issues is really myopic. Girl watch Disclosure on Netflix.’

According to Berry, the now controversial project was pitched to her, while she was ‘on the brink of making [the film] Bruised,’ which happens to be the actress’ directorial debut.

In Bruised – which is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September – Halle plays a female MMA fighter.

‘This project got pitched to me right when I was the brink of making Bruised, but I so was in the mindset of getting in the body to play that, and I don’t know how long I can play an MMA character, so I had to get that out,’ she explained.    

‘But this got pitched to me, and I thought, after I do [Bruised], that’s the character I’m going to play,’ concluded the Academy Award-winner.