Zoë Kravitz slammed “click bait bad journalism” on Tuesday while clarifying an earlier comment she made about being told she was too “urban” to audition for a small role in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises in 2012.
Zoë Kravitz currently stars as Catwoman opposite Robert Pattinson as Batman in Matt Reeves’ new film The Batman. She opened up about fame, cancel culture and playing Catwoman in a story published in The Guardian on Sunday, in which she also discussed her attempt to audition for a small role in The Dark Knight Rises, and being told by an unnamed person that she was too “urban.”
“I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan,” Kravitz told The Guardian. “I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant… Being a woman of colour and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the colour of my skin, and the word urban being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment.”
She clarified on Instagram Tuesday that she did not intend to “make anyone seem racist,” including Nolan. She also tried to clear up any speculation that she had sought to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, a role that went to Anne Hathaway.
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“Ok— let’s talk about click bait bad journalism,” Kravitz said in a statement posted as an Instagram story.
“I was NOT told I was too urban to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight. It would have made NO sense for me to even be considered for that role at that time.
I wanted to AUDITION for a small part in the film and was told (I do not know who said this but this is how it was worded to me) that they were not going ‘urban’ on the part. This is something I heard a lot 10 years ago — it was a very different time.
I did not mention this to point any fingers or make anyone seem racist, namely Chris Nolan, the film’s producers or anyone on the casting team, because I truly do not believe anyone meant any harm. I was simply giving an example of what it was like to be a woman of color in this industry at that time.
“Again this was many years ago when words like that were thrown around very casually and although I’m very glad that we are attempting to evolve — let’s all calm down — as well as fact check before we write things that are untrue.”
Here is the full statement on Instagram:
Main Image: Robert Pattinson as Batman and Zoё Kravitz as Selina Kyle in The Batman, from Matt Reeves