“Zoolander 2,” the highly anticipated sequel to the 2001 hit comedy flick about male models and the fashion industry, doesn’t arrive in theaters until next year, but LGBTQ activists are already up in arms about the Ben Stiller film after the trailer was released this week.
An online petition is calling for people to boycott the film because of a new character “All,” an androgynous supermodel, played by “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch, Entertainment Weekly reported.
In the trailer, Mr. Stiller asks the character, “Are you like a male model or a female model?” To which Mr. Cumberbatch’s responds “All is all.”
Owen Wilson’s character, Hansel, then asks the model, “Do you have a hot dog or a bun?”
The petition’s author, Sarah Rose, blasted the new character saying “All” is clearly portrayed “as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals.”
“This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority,” Ms. Rose said. “Like any rational person, I think there’s a place for discourse and humor in society, but the last thing the transgender community needs at this moment is another harmful, cartoonish portrayal of our lives.”
“Zoolander 2” debuts in theaters Feb. 12.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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