The trailer for Zoolander 2 has spurred a petition by activists who say the film is transphobic.
November 20 2015 5:56 AM EST
October 31 2024 7:26 AM EST
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The trailer for Zoolander 2 has spurred a petition by activists who say the film is transphobic.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's return in the Zoolander franchise, Zoolander 2, might not be a model of diversity. A new trailer released this week has some activists concerned the film is transphobic.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays androgynous model "All," and in one scene from the trailer, the two stars question whether All is a "male or female model" and if All has "a hot dog or a bun." Cumberbatch's character responds with a giggle and, "Whoops."
A petition started by Sarah Rose calls for a boycott of the film "for its offensive representation of non-binary individuals." The petition wants Paramount Pictures to know that "mocking transgender/androgyne/gender fluid individuals is not OK."
The trailer begins with the idea that the fashion industry has changed since the last Zoolander movie and then introduces All.
"If the producers and screenwriters of Zoolander wanted to provide social commentary on the presence of trans/androgyne individuals in the fashion industry, they could have approached models like Andreja Pejic to be in the film," the petition reads. "By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, the film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large."
Watch the trailer below to see the interaction between Stiller, Wilson, and Cumberbatch's characters.