Zoolander 2's Portrayal of Transgender Character Prompts Boycott

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Zoolander 2 is set to be a star-studded affair with a trailer alone that features cameos from Justin Bieber, Kyle Mooney, Kristen Wiig, Usher, and Miley Cyrus. However, it's Benedict Cumberbatch's appearance that isn't sitting well with fans. Cumberbatch plays the part of a transgender model named All who appears to be a caricature of a transgender person.

If this wasn't offensive enough, All also leaves the main characters, Hansel and Derek Zoolander, dumbfounded and asking horribly offensive questions, like, "Do you have a hotdog or a bun?" i-D reports that these comments have incited the creation of a petition encouraging people to boycott the film when it hits theaters in February. "Cumberbatch's character is clearly portrayed as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals," the petition's creator Sarah Rose writes. "This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority."

The petition also explains how damaging a scene like this can be. "By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, they film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large."

As of this writing, the petition has nearly 9,400 signatures.

Photo: Universal Studios/Youtube