‘Black Widow’ star Scarlett Johansson criticizes 'sexualized' portrayal of character in 'Iron Man 2'

While on set for her first standalone film in the franchise, the actress revealed her contempt for the hypersexualization of her character, also known as Natasha, specifically in the “Iron Man” sequel.

"I mean, you look back at ‘Iron Man 2’ and while it was really fun and had a lot of great moments in it, the character is so sexualized, you know?" Johansson, 36, told Collider during a 2019 press visit to the set of the upcoming movie, according to the interview the site published this week. "Really talked about like she’s a piece of something, like a possession or a thing or whatever — like a piece of ass, really. And Tony [Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr.] even refers to her as something like that at one point. What does he say? ‘I want some.’ " While it doesn’t seem like the actress is too keen about the depiction of Natasha in previous films, she acknowledged the obvious erotic elements of her character.