Scarlett Johansson once made an admirable stand against the controversial Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who had been accused of perpetuating war crimes in Yemen.
According to a 2017 report by the Guardian, Johansson refused a Ridley Scott film after Mohammed bin Salman offered to fund it. The Black Widow actress was set to star in a biopic about Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario, which Ridley Scott was directing.
However, the actor declined film funding from the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. At the time, Lynsey Addario told the New York Times, “Scarlett Johansson said absolutely not. She said: ‘This guy is perpetuating the war in Yemen. He has women in prison.’”
Addario added: “This was before the killing of Khashoggi when he became one of the main people who wanted to fund the movie.” In 2017, Bin Salman was implicated in the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The journalist died in the Saudi embassy in Turkey after he criticized Bin Salman’s rule in an article.
It appears that after Scarlett Johansson refused Bin Salman’s funding offer for the Ridley Scott film, the studio shelved the project. The biopic has yet to materialize, and Ridley Scott and Scarlett Johansson have not commented on it.
According to the Guardian, Dwayne Johnson was also tied to the project at the time. Bin Salman reportedly arrived in Hollywood to meet with studio heads and stars, including Dwayne Johnson. However, his visit was met with widespread protests. After meeting Bin Salman, Dwayne Johnson took to Instagram and wrote that it was a “pleasure” to meet him.
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