Mark Ruffalo earned his spot as one of “The Offenders” during the cringeworthy Age of Ultron press tour. He didn’t approach levels of Robert Downey Jr. offensiveness, and he didn’t call Black Widow a “wh*re and slut“ like Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner. But Ruffalo did step in it during a visit to Graham Norton two weeks ago. Elizabeth Olsen called Scarlet Witch a gypsy, and Norton warned her that the term is a derogatory term for Romani people. That should have been the end of the discussion, but Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner decided to chant, “gypsy, gypsy.” Norton was pretty peeved in response.
Norton’s people ended up editing out the offending portion from the final episode, but someone asked Mark about it on Twitter this weekend.
@choicesmakeus Sorry. It was goofing. I apologize. I hadn't heard that until then. I won't do it again. Seriously
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) May 2, 2015
Ruffalo seems pretty sincere, and this tiny tweet is a better apology than Evans and Renner’s obligatory ones. I still don’t know why Ruffalo and Renner would chant an ethnic slur immediately after Norton admonished Olsen. Maybe these two guys are complete drunkfaces too. That’s still not an excuse.
Ruffalo also made this bold statement on Twitter last week.
.@Marvel we need more #BlackWidow merchandise for my daughters and nieces. Pretty please.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 29, 2015
Did Ruffalo just redeem himself? He’s the only male Avengers who has acknowledged Marvel’s astonishing lack of Black Widow merch. My niece wants an action figure for her birthday. Boys want them too, but you can’t find them anywhere. The only ones available are limited edition figures (leftover from Iron Man 2) that cost hundreds of dollars. It’s ridiculous, and thank goodness Ruffalo said something.
FYI: Entertainment Weekly has an in-depth analysis on ScarJo’s portrayal and how three different directorial teams have treated the Black Widow character. Oh … and this weekend’s episode of SNL had a Black Widow romcom sketch starring Scarlett Johansson herself. “Marvel gets women.”
Photos courtesy of WENN
