In 2017, Scarlett Johansson intensified her criticism of Ivanka Trump. At the Women in the World Summit in New York, the actress did not hold back when criticizing the daughter of the 45th president of the United States.
Even though Johansson earlier made some strong words for Trump, on Saturday Night Live, the 39-year-old actress was not amused by the latter’s personal influence on politics and policy. She spoke out about Trump’s 2017 interview with CBS News, in which Donald Trump’s eldest daughter stated that her impact on the White House would be felt behind the scenes.
In doing so, the Hollywood sensation boldly called out Trump for her traditionalist views, challenging her perception of feminism. The Horse Whisperer actress found the latter’s interview with Gayle King of CBS News to be “baffling.”
Scarlett Johansson Challenged Ivanka Trump’s Traditionalist Stance
Scarlett Johansson’s critique centered on the notion that Ivanka Trump, while advocating for women’s empowerment, remained complacent within traditional gender roles. At the 2017 Women in the World Summit (via The Daily Beast), the actress discussed Trump’s interview with CBS News’ Gayle King, in which the former president’s daughter stated that her influence will be minimal in the White House.
Colin Jost’s wife stated:
“You can’t have it both ways. If you take a job as a public advocate, then you must advocate publicly.”
Johansson described Ivanka’s interview with CBS News as “baffling”, noting that she was especially “disappointed” in the latter’s acknowledgment that her contributions to the administration would primarily take place behind the scenes. The actress added:
“It was kind of baffling, I have to say. It was really baffling. You can’t have it both ways, right? If you take a job as a public advocate, then you must advocate publicly, right?”
Moreover, she attacked the former president’s daughter, saying she was a traditionalist rather than a feminist. In fact, even with Trump’s alleged “advocacy” for women’s rights—discussing the value of paid maternity leave and equal pay—she has never claimed to be a feminist. Johansson noted:
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, that’s empowering!’ How old-fashioned! This idea that behind a great man is a great woman. What about being in front of that person, or next to that person, or standing on your own? It’s such an old-fashioned concept that to be this powerful woman, you can’t appear to be concerned with that someone’s going to think you’re ‘b**chy.’”
Johansson made it clear that Trump has the opportunity to make a “big impact, just by being vocal” even though she admitted that she is aware of the challenging circumstances Donald Trump’s daughter might be facing.
Ivanka Trump Didn’t Know What It Meant To Be ‘Complicit’?
Defending herself against accusations of “complicity” in her father’s administration, Ivanka Trump stated in her first interview after joining the White House that she had good reasons for participating. She told Fortune in 2017:
“If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit. I don’t know that the critics who may say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I am doing.”
She stated that she did not know what it meant to be complicit but that she hoped time would show that she had done a good job. Trump added:
“I don’t know what it means to be complicit, but I hope time will prove I have done a good job and that my father’s administration is the success I know it will be. I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence.”
Ivanka Trump is a name that elicits a wide range of emotions, from admiration to skepticism. She served as a senior advisor in her father’s administration from 2017 to 2021 and her image cannot just be that of the daughter of the former president. Having said that, there is no denying her impact and influence on American society and on a global scale.
