GLAAD Calls ‘Tomboy’ “Disappointing”: Gender Reassignment Surgery Isn’t a “Sensationalistic Plot Device”

GLAAD is speaking out about the gender-reassignment plotline in the new action film Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale, in which Michelle Rodriguez has just been cast in the starring role.

The thriller focuses on a hitman who falls into the hands of a rogue surgeon who then turns him into a woman. The assassin, played by Rodriguez, then seeks revenge on the doctor, played by Sigourney Weaver. The script was written by director Walter Hill from a story by Denis Hamill.

“We haven’t read the script, but it’s disappointing to see filmmakers turning what is a life-saving medical procedure for transgender people into a sensationalistic plot device,” GLAAD’s director of programs for transgender media, Nick Adams, tells The Hollywood Reporter. 

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“We are at a crucial moment in the public’s understanding of transgender issues, and stories like these have the potential to undermine the progress we’ve worked so hard to achieve,” adds Adams. 

Producers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.