Benedict Cumberbatch apologises for ‘Zoolander 2’ non-binary role: “I upset people”
Benedict Cumberbatch has recently apologised for his role in Ben Stiller’s Zoolander 2, for which he received backlash for playing a non-binary fashion model.
The actor addressed the controversial choice, saying he has had to apologise repeatedly since the film was released in 2016. Notably, the sequel failed to match up to the first movie’s success with just $28 million at the box office.
Discussing the movie with Variety, Cumberbatch explained that he accepted the role because he was excited to be involved in a project with the Zoolander team, but that it grew too complicated, and he now regrets it.
“I’ve had to apologise for that quite a lot. It’s a difficult one to talk about,” he said, adding, “I love that group of people, and it was the chance to sort of be part of something that the first time around was iconic and I was a huge fan of. But it got complicated and it got misunderstood and I upset people. I respect that, so I probably wouldn’t do that again now.”
The actor’s character, All, attracted significant backlash for being offensive against the LGTBQ+ community, with many calling for an entire boycott following the movie’s release. It also spurred an online petition, which claimed All to be an “over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals,” with a choice akin to “the modern equivalent of using blackface”.
The issue also centred around Cumberbatch playing the role rather than a non-binary actor, coupled with the characterisation purposefully fabricated to appear negative for comedic purposes, branding the entire concept “dangerous.”
Cumberbatch previously expressed his regret over the role, explaining that times have changed since the movie came out and that he now understands more about the problematic nature of the role itself. During one of Variety‘s Actors on Actors in 2022, he explained that the situation was a product of “two heteronormative clichés not understanding this new diverse world.”
Last year, Stiller reflected on the movie’s lack of success and how it “blindsided” him because there was a lot of audience anticipation for the movie until it received an imbalance of negative reviews. “I thought everybody wanted this,” he said, “And then it’s like, ‘Wow, I must have really fucked this up. Everybody didn’t go to it. And it’s gotten these horrible reviews.”
He added: “It really freaked me out because I was like, ‘I didn’t know, was that bad?’ What scared me the most on that one was I’m losing what I think what’s funny, the questioning yourself … on Zoolander 2, it was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.