“Rub and Tug” scrapped after Scarlett Johansson exit

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – In the wake of Scarlett Johansson bowing out of the project earlier this week, it looks like the proposed biopic “Rub and Tug” has also been shelved.

Johansson would have played transgender massage parlor owner Dante ‘Tex’ Gill (born Lois Jean Gill) who took on the Pittsburgh mob in the 1970s and built a crime empire.

Johansson and director Rupert Sanders, having been on the receiving end of backlash for “Ghost in the Shell” with its whitewashing of the central Asian character, found themselves facing ‘ciswashing’ complaints here with her casting being labelled problematic.

Johansson’s rep released a dismissive statement last week, and then the other day Johansson herself gave a more eloquently worded one and pulled out of the project. Now, without her involvement, the project appears to be falling apart according to The Wrap.

The outlet says Sanders is still attached to direct, but without Johansson’s involvement it’s likely not enough to move forward and confirms – whether one likes it or not – her name was the only selling factor of the project rather than the story itself.