Just as 1 million monkeys banging on typewriters will eventually produce Hamlet, the dozens of actors who appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron sitting through hours of interminable press junkets will eventually produce some uncomfortable moments. Yesterday we had Robert Downey Jr. walking out of an interview, and today comes footage of Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner joking about Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow being a “slut†and a “whore†— two words you definitely shouldn’t say in 2015. It was just offensive enough to cause the internet’s misogyny alarms to sound, and Evans and Renner are just beloved enough to inspire legions of defenders. This press tour can’t end soon enough.
Update: In statements to EW, both Evans and Renner apologized for their remarks. As Evans put it, “We answered in a very juvenile and offensive way that rightfully angered some fans. I regret it and sincerely apologize.†Renner’s apology was slightly more forced: “I am sorry that this tasteless joke about a fictional character offended anyone. It was not meant to be serious in any way. Just poking fun during an exhausting and tedious press tour.â€