A film studio has apologized for using a man to dub Laverne Cox’s voice in the Italian-language version of “Promising Young Woman.”
The Oscar-winning flick, directed by Emerald Fennell, was set to premiere in the country on May 13, though it’s since been pushed back after fans voiced concerns on social media, The Guardian reported.
Universal Pictures International opted to have male actor Roberto Pedicini, 59, provide vocals for Cox, a 48-year-old transgender woman. The studio posted a clip from the dubbed version on May 6, which was swiftly met with an outcry of complaints.
The production team is working to re-voice the movie with a woman.
“We are deeply grateful to Laverne and the transgender community for opening our eyes to a bias that neither we nor many in our industry had recognized. While there was no malicious intent behind this mistake, we are working diligently to fix it,” a spokesperson for UPI told The Guardian. “We have begun redubbing Ms. Cox’s voice with female actors in our international territories and are pushing back release dates to ensure the correct version is available.”
The company also apologized “for the pain caused” and plans to “prevent similar mistakes from happening again on future projects.”
This is not the first time an Italian production has used a man to dub for Cox. In “Orange Is the New Black,” “The Mindy Project” and “Doubt,” her voice was done by male actor Andrea Lavagnino, 50.
