Jeremy Renner doubles down on Avengers 'slut' comment

In the midst of a very bumpy press tour for Avengers: Age of Ultron last month, stars Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner drew criticism for an interview in which they called Black Widow, the character played by Scarlett Johansson, a "slut" and a "complete whore." As the controversy bubbled over, Chris Evans issued a genuine-sounding apology, Jeremy Renner issued a not-so-genuine-sounding apology, and everyone pretty much moved on.

Except, apparently, Jeremy Renner. In a Monday interview on Conan, Renner doubled down on his original comment. "Yeah, it was a joke. Off-color. Whatever. I'm unapologetic about a lot of things," said Renner. "But, yeah, I got in a lot of trouble. Internet trouble. I guess that's a thing now you can get in."

"Now, mind you, I was talking about a fictional character, and fictional behavior. But, Conan: If you slept with four of the six Avengers — no matter how much fun you had — you'd be a slut. Just saying. I'd be a slut."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Of course, the original controversy stemmed from the double standard about how a man with multiple partners isn't generally labeled a "slut" or a "whore" — so yeah, still kind of missing the point, Renner.