Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans are both in hot water after some sexist remarks during an interview with Digital Spy this past week.
In the interview, the two “Avengers: Age of Ultron” actors were asked why Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, gets romantically involved with so many of the Avengers.
In a show of simple-minded humor, Renner and Evans joked that Black Widow was simply a “slut” or a “whore.”
Now, we here at the Editorial Board are all for cheap laughs.
The low-hanging fruit might not be the most sophisticated humor out there, but it certainly isn’t beyond us.
However, there is a line, and these actors both crossed it.
Of course, neither actor meant any sort of real harm with his comments.
Chris Evans actually issued an apology, stating he had “answered in a very juvenile and offensive way that ?rightfully angered some fans.”
Though it’s nice to know Captain America didn’t mean anything sinister with his comments, the fact still ?remains that this is a major problem with the world we live in.
The problem here is the same sort of slut-shaming we see every day in?modern society.
Had the actors been asked about Tony Stark’s many sexual escapades, the actors probably would have joked about how much of a man he is because of how many women he ?sleeps with.
But the second a female character shows some sort of sexual endeavor, she’s instantly branded a slut and ?a whore.
This is taken to an entirely new level when you realize Black Widow barely gets any merchandise of her own.
Fans of all Avengers from Iron Man to the Hulk can find a wide variety of their favorite character’s ?merchandise.
Hoodies, costumes and a variety of other items can be found with these ?familiar faces on them.
But dedicated fans of Black Widow are left out in the cold.
From the official Marvel store, Black Widow only has a mug, mousepad and T-shirt available.
Honestly, we don’t really care that Marvel isn’t attempting to cash in on one of its trademarked characters.
What bothers us is the fact that women are basically left to be background characters in movies such ?as this.
And unfortunately, it is nothing new in the superhero world.
Black Widow is allowed to be portrayed as a sexual object or even a romantic one, but she isn’t allowed to be cool enough to warrant her own ?merchandise.
Her character has such a fascinating story and background, but the guys at Marvel would rather spend their time focusing on who she has feelings for.
Evans and Renner definitely weren’t trying to hurt anyone with their comments, as shown by Evans’ truly ?sincere apology.
However, their inappropriate and ill-mannered jokes definitely show that we still have a lot of work to do.
