Captain America and Hawkeye Just Called Black Widow A ‘Slut.’ No, For Real Guys.

Being a Superhero puts you in one of the biggest spotlights there is. Choose your words carefully.

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In this video by Digital Spy, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner are doing an interview and … well … just watch.

So let’s discuss.

First, I’m going to make a point for you that Evans and Renner will ultimately make for themselves. I’m not defending their comments, I’m just covering all the angles.

It has become apparent over the last week or so that a press tour of this size takes its toll on the talent. And with such a rigorous schedule, sometimes there are “slip-ups.” While this isn’t a defense for the comments made, it should be mentioned.

While many people may say to themselves, “All they have to do is talk to press people and shoot, it’s the easiest job ever… ” hold on a tic. A typical schedule for one of these actors can include any number of interviews or appearances between the hours of 6:00AM to 11:30PM at least 6 days a week. This lack of sleep and jump-around schedule affects these guys not just on a physical level but on a mental level. This is because—we need to remember—they are in the middle of a continuous and rigorous work-out and eating schedule for their preparation for upcoming projects. A break in that schedule of any kind, let alone one of this size, can be intensely negative on both their body and mind. So to make a point for you that they will probably make for themselves: “They are being put through a physical and mental ringer and slip-ups happen. We really really regret this particular instance.”

While I can wrap my brain around that truth, what they need to understand is exactly the scale of this unimaginable f*ck-up. Their audience mostly consists of teen and pre-teen kids, who are still molding what is “right and wrong” in their head. As a parent, I’m hugely disappointed that they would forget their ability to influence their young fans and make a crack of this nature.

As a grown up I’m fully aware of these types of sexual jokes, and what kind of camaraderie there may be between the actors themselves, and that “slip-ups” happen. But as a fan of MCU, I’m also disappointed. Marvel is on top of the industry right now. They keep outdoing themselves over and over. But if this particular movie wasn’t being haunted enough by talk about Joss Whedon nearly having a mental breakdown, it’s certainly haunted now. These are not the types of things you say about another person, and then have it be lightly apologized for and packed away. Even if Scarlett, wonder of the earth that she is, says something like, “It’s OK, I forgive them, boys will be boys” etc., it won’t fix anything.

Millions of people will still go see this movie, but the fourth wall is now broken by that little nagging nugget in the back of all our brains that Chris and Jeremy have planted.

The comments were 100% disrespectful, 100% unnecessary, and 100% going to be seen by 100% of your fans.

You colossal f*cking idiots.

While they may also say in their defense, “How do you answer a question like that? Clearly anyone asking a question regarding the sexual nature of a character in the film and her possible relationships aren’t looking for a serious answer, so we did not take it as a serious question,” but that still doesn’t matter. If that really was the case, the answer should have been something like, “She’s an independent and strong character, as is obvious, but the series as made clear that she is also dealing with some emotional issues. It makes sense for here to be with someone that brings a sort of balance.” BOOM. Send ME on the press tour dammit.

In the end, the lesson will be this: Two young, successful, macho, and exhausted guys made a ridiculous and inappropriate comment about a coworker on a global stage. Colossal idiots.

But I’ll tell you what’s good about this: This will bring the conversation of sexualization in the comic book industry that has been creeping in the background into the forefront. We’ve been talking about it for a long time, the fact that we need more strong women in comics, as well as women in comics that aren’t over-sexualized. The conversation has been going strong over the past few months, especially what with the “big-booty” alternate cover of Spider-Girl, and the new Thor series starring a woman. But the one place this conversation has never really gone is into the realm of MCU’s films. Each one has included a strong female character, and never have they let us down.

Until … two of their primary stars called one of those strong female characters a “slut” and a “trick.”

This still needs to be talked about though, and not just in the context of comic books or comic book movies, but in the context of popular culture as a whole. We are growing as a society to be more inclusive and more sensitive, but the fact that in such an advanced period of our history we are still dealing with the ridiculous mindset that one gender dominates the other seriously bothers me, both as a parent, and as a sensible human being.

This will possibly go down as one of the biggest company wide face-palms in history, behind Jake The Snake and The Iron Sheik getting arrested for cocaine together in the 80’s.

In the end, it is unfortunate for Evans and Renner and the series as a whole, but I do believe it will work out for us. The conversation will be had, instead of overlooked, in the context of their film series’ moving forward. All that will be truly hurt is the reputation of two guys who should have known better in the first place.

Upon first draft of this post, a fellow Good Men Project contributor and friend pointed out something many may have missed:

A second layer to this unfortunate onion that a good portion of us have tuned out because of the level of insensitivity right from the start of the interview, Renner also goes on to make a negative comment about the fact that she has a prosthetic leg in light of the interviewer saying that the character will “always be the sidekick, just flirting away with everyone.”

And there it is, in one 3 minute interview they were able to offend both women and the disabled. It’s obvious that both of these Hollywood stars need a lesson in what it means to be discriminated against based on gender or physical appearance. It seems that, while they are both typically nice guys compared to a lot of Hollywood’s darlings, they are still suffering from a case of, “I’m a wealthy, young, physically fit white male,” and it’s OK to make jackass comments about those seen as “lesser.” Exhausted at the time of the interview or not, you’ve got two very big issues sitting on your shoulders right now. And the whole world is watching.

Seriously guys, if you are reading this …*sigh*

Colossal. F*cking. Idiots.

To close, both Evans and Renner issued statements a few hours later in apology, and rightfully so. Here’s hoping that these two offhanded remarks, although offensive, be taken with a grain of inspiration to continue the discussion around these issues as often and as constructively as possible.

A version of this post originally appeared at Dad On The Mic. Reprinted with permission.

Photo provided by Digital Spy