Benedict Cumberbatch’s non-binary character in Zoolander 2 was poorly acquired (Image: Getty; Rex/Shutterstock)

The 2016 sequel to the Ben Stiller favorite confronted backlash earlier than the movie was even launched, with LGBT+ activists condemning the movie after the launch of its trailer.

Within the trailer, audiences have been launched to Benedict’s androgynous character, All, who was requested by Owen Wilson’s Hansel if All had ‘a hotdog or a bun’.

The general public and activists condemned the ‘over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary people’, with the controversy persevering with throughout and after the movie’s launch in theatres.

Now BBC Sherlock star Benedict has opened up in regards to the backlash in a brand new interview, saying he agrees with those that condemned it.

Chatting with Zoolander co-star Penelope Cruz on Selection’s Actors on Actors collection, the actor recalled there ‘was a variety of competition’ surrounding his character, ‘understandably now’.

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Benedict admits he wouldn’t play the function lately (Image: Getty)

In 2022, he mentioned, ‘my function would by no means be carried out by anyone aside from a trans actor’.

On the time, he thought the introduction of a non-binary character was fairly progressive, because it portrayed Ben and Owen’s characters being ‘two dinosaurs, two heteronormative clichés not understanding this new numerous world’.

‘But it surely backfired a bit bit,’ he admitted.

A petition launched after the discharge of the Zoolander 2 trailer slated the comedy sequel for ‘its offensive illustration of non-binary people’.

It accused using Benedict’s character as ‘the fashionable equal of utilizing blackface to signify a minority,’ calling for a boycott of the movie.

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Benedict’s character was slammed as ‘over-the-top’ and ‘offensive’ (Image: Paramount)

‘By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary particular person in a clearly unfavourable manner, the movie endorses dangerous and harmful perceptions of the queer group at massive,’ the petition argued.

And it wasn’t simply LGBT+ activists who criticised Zoolander 2: the film was completely slated by critics upon its launch.

Regardless of the roaring success of the unique, the sequel massively did not reside as much as expectations, with some critics even strolling out midway by means of the movie.