The rumor mill churns venomous conjectures in almost every sector of life, but it’s most prevalent in the heart of Hollywood. Ask Scarlett Johansson; she’d know. The MCU star is among the many faces of the glamorous industry who’ve found themselves stumbling upon speculation and unfounded reports that can range from bizarre to downright petrifying.
One rumor especially followed the actress for a while, and it revolved around how she allegedly had an intimate encounter with Guardians of the Galaxy star Benicio del Toro in a hotel elevator!
Whispers of the unsubstantiated story seemingly originated in the early 2000s after the Oscars. For a while, people wondered whether there was any truth to the celebrity tittle-tattle. A later interview by the Sicario alum added fuel to the fire, with the actor’s cryptic statement raising more questions than answering any. And although Johannsson reportedly addressed the matter from the get-go, the rumor followed her for nearly two decades.
Then, in 2022, the purported encounter was brought up again, and this time, the Lost in Translation star set the record straight once and for all and confirmed it did not happen.
Scarlett Johansson Dismissed The Rumor Of Her Intimate Encounter With Benicio Del Toro In A Lift
As mentioned, the rumor arose two decades ago, specifically after the 2004 Academy Awards. It revolved around Scarlett Johansson and Benicio Del Toro supposedly hooking up in a lift at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles. Reports indicate that the baseless claims gained further traction following the Traffic alum’s interview with Esquire in 2005 (via Independent). Following was his mystifying statement:
“Did I ever have s*x in an elevator with Scarlett Johansson after an awards show? I kind of like, you know, I, well. I don’t know. Let’s leave that to somebody’s imagination. Let’s not promote it. I’m sure it has happened before. It might not be the last time either.”
The vague response didn’t answer much, of course.
The rumors were eventually put to rest in 2022 by Scarlett Johansson, who did so without bringing up Del Toro. Appearing on TheSkimm‘s 9 to 5ish podcast, the Lucy star engaged in a quick questions-quick answers segment, where she was asked to reveal the “weirdest headline” the actress read about herself. Johansson answered:
“There was a rumor that went around for a very long time that said I had s*x in an elevator. They probably still write those things about people—maybe—but … when I was young, it was more acceptable to write really nasty, sl*tty things about young actresses. That was a story that followed me for a long time.”
Not only were those unwarranted claims “outrageous” to her, but the logistics of the scenario puzzled the star for a long time. She then revealed why the story felt so absurd to her.
Scarlett Johansson Questioned The Logistics Of The Bizarre Rumor
Johansson, perplexed about the orchestration of such a situation, commented, “I always thought that was outrageous. I was always thinking to myself, ‘That would be tough.’ It’s a very short period; the logistics of that seem so unappealing to me.” She then disclosed one of her fears, which made the possibility of committing to the alleged act seem unreasonably ridiculous to the actress:
“I’m a person who’s terrified of being caught doing something I’m not supposed to be doing. So that made the story even that much more absurd to me.”
As previously noted by the NZ Herald, this was not the first time the well-known Hollywood personality had to respond to the rumor that she had engaged in a s*xual encounter with Benicio Del Toro in an elevator. She reportedly said the following in an interview with Allure years back according to the outlet:
“He’s [Del Toro] a fabulous guy. Apparently, there was somebody with us in an elevator, and we were making out or having s*x or something, which I think is very unsanitary.”
These are bygones, though, and while actresses in Hollywood can seldom escape bizarre rumors and unpalatable speculations about their personal lives under the misogynistic treatment they’re usually subject to, we can assume that the actress doesn’t feel bothered about this particular age-old gossip anymore.
On the professional front, Scarlett Johansson is set to feature in a space race film for Apple TV+, previously titled Project Artemis, announced for release on July 12, 2024. She also joined the cast of the upcoming animated film Transformers One, where she will perform a voice role. It has a release date of September 13, 2024.
As for recently released endeavors, the actress starred in Asteroid City and North Star, of which the former is available on Amazon Prime Video.
