Rebel Wilson has insisted that actors should be allowed to play any role they wish.
The Pitch Perfect star, 44, subtly criticized the film industry, saying it’s “complete nonsense” that only gay actors can play gay characters.
speaking to Lauren Laverne in bbc Radio 4’s Desert Island RecordsRebel discussed whether different genders get away with different jokes.
She said: “I’ve definitely told a lot of risqué jokes, and sometimes I said them in very public places like the Baftas.”
‘Yeah, I don’t think there’s a different standard, it’s more about: if you’re something, now you can joke about it. Let’s say if you’re overweight, you can tell jokes.
Rebel Wilson, 44, has insisted that actors should be allowed to play any role they wish.
The Pitch Perfect star subtly criticized the film industry, stating that it is “complete nonsense” that only gay actors can play gay characters.
But if you don’t (you can’t), that’s what’s currently happening. So it really has nothing to do with gender.”
And he added: ‘I think that’s difficult. It’s getting into this territory of saying, “Well, only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles,” which I think is total nonsense.
‘I think you should be able to play any role you want. But I always think that, in comedy, your job is to always flirt with that line of what’s acceptable.
“Sometimes you overlook it, but at the end of the day, you’re trying to entertain people.”
It comes after Rebel revealed she would now be strong enough to walk away from the alleged “degrading” treatment she claims she suffered at the hands of Sacha Baron Cohen.
She said she allowed herself to be “degraded” by the British comedian because she lacked the self-esteem to stand up for herself when they acted together in the 2016 film Grimsby.
Rebel, who has said that early in her career she was often cast as the “funny fat girl”, tells host Lauren Laverne: “That was the worst professional experience and that’s where she crossed the line.
“It wasn’t comedy. She just crossed the line into an experience where I felt humiliated and degraded for being an overweight woman.”
Speaking to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Rebel discussed whether different genres get away with different jokes. She said: “I’ve definitely told a lot of risqué jokes, and sometimes I said them in very public places like the Baftas.”
‘Yeah, I don’t think there’s a different standard, it’s more about: if you’re something, now you can joke about it. So let’s say, if you’re overweight, you can tell jokes,’ she said.
And he added: ‘I think that’s difficult. It’s getting into this territory of saying, “Well, only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles,” which I think is total nonsense.
It comes after Rebel revealed she would now be strong enough to walk away from the alleged “degrading” treatment she claims she suffered at the hands of Sacha Baron Cohen.
He continues: ‘Although at the time I reported it, nothing really happened.
‘I was left in a situation and they told me things and things that I should have left. The me now would be strong enough, but back then I just didn’t have enough self-esteem to leave and I thought I would be labeled unprofessional if I left.’
In Grimsby, which was a box office flop, Baron Cohen played an irresponsible football hooligan called Nobby who has 11 children with his partner Dawn, played by Wilson. The film also starred Mark Strong as Nobby’s unlikely brother.
In her recent memoir Rebel Rising, Wilson accused Ali G and Borat actor of pressuring her to do a nude scene and forcing her to wear clothes that showed her in the most unflattering light.
He is also alleged to have harassed her and asked her to put his finger in his butt.
Baron Cohen, who co-wrote and produced the film, denied all of Wilson’s claims.
The actress does not make any specific accusations. But she does say that she does not regret telling her story “in some way to release the shame that she had suffered in a situation that was not very good.”
He added: “I guess it’s a final release of emotions and if it can help some people then it’s worth it.”
