Scarlett Johansson is one of the most remarkable talents out there. Her portrayal of  Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is probably the most memorable one. Even though the character’s run came to an end at Marvel, she remains one of the strongest superheroes.

Johansson has done a lot in the eleven years she played Black Widow. Be it the battles or going through different looks, she never left a stone unturned in her commitment to the bit. However, there was one time when Johansson put her foot down with something related to her character. This was in order to send a message across.

Scarlett Johansson in A Marriage Story

Scarlett Johansson’s Refusal For One Particular Scene

For Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the writing team, consisting largely of male writers, proposed one particular thing for Natasha Romanoff in a scene, which Scarlett Johansson turned down.

Johansson feels strongly about how her character is presented on the screen, considering how much it influences the feminine population. The Lucy actress said that her character was “sexualized” and “treated like a piece of a*s” when it debuted on the screen in Iron Man 2.

Scarlett Johansson in and as Black Widow

The fashion choices for Black Widow have been something to appeal to the male gaze. And with time Johansson was working towards changing that. In later films, Black Widow’s look evolved. And Johansson started holding her ground.

 

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For this reason, she denied a look proposed for Natasha Romanoff to wear in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Here’s what Johansson told Fatherly (via Uproxx):

“When we were doing ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ — this is a really funny thing — the look is fantastic and utilitarian. ‘She first drives up in this beautiful car and picks up Cap, and initially in the script, it was like, she arrives in her tennis whites, with a blonde wig.’ It was very quickly killed.”

Known for making bold calls and giving her all to her job, Johansson denying something as trivial as a costume for her character seemed strange. But she did have reasons.

Why Scarlett Johansson Made This Choice

Scarlett Johansson in Avengers
Johansson was aware of the responsibility and representation her character was bringing to the table. By choosing not to go with a look that didn’t necessarily serve the plot, she made a bold statement. With time, she was the one calling the shots on the appearance of Black Widow. As she told Fatherly:

“You work with a lot of male writers. Things were shifting. You have to be a part of the change. Audiences are also demanding stuff and there’s a cultural shift and it feeds everything into a more progressive direction.”

This may not sound like a big deal to many, but it is high time women spoke up in these matters because the entertainment industry can be a very hard place to be.