Hollywood's diversions have become tedious for Halle Berry.
The Oscar winner, 58, reshared a video of director Matthew Vaughn claiming that he withdrew from working on "X-Men: The Last Stand" on Saturday, October 5, because executives behind the scenes were not being open with Berry about the size of her role in the film. X, formerly known as Twitter, was the platform to share videos.
"You just never know the shady s--- going on behind your back," she wrote in the text displayed above the clip, OK! Magazine reported. "Thank you, Matthew Vaughn, for bringing the dark to light."
Last year, Vaughn disclosed that he withdrew from the action project after discovering that Berry, renowned for portraying Storm, was allegedly coerced into participating by a fabricated script that exaggerated her role, Deadline reported.
Vaughn's successful filmographies include "Kick-Ass," "Kingsman: The Secret Service," and both of its sequels. He also wrote and produced "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and directed "X-Men: First Class." Brett Ratner replaced him in "X-Men: The Last Stand" after he withdrew his participation due to allegations of a suspicious casting agreement.
He insisted that Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the 2006 "X-Men" film, and other actors were hired to helm the movie. His suspicions were aroused when he came across a seemingly more extended version of the script.
Studios allegedly advised Matthew to disregard the new sequence in which Halle Berry's character Storm uses her abilities to aid starving children in Africa. Still, when Matthew checked it out, he noticed it, The Independent reported.
"One of the main reasons I quit X-Men 3, and this is a true story. Hollywood is really political and odd," the filmmaker stated during a 2023 New York Comic Con panel. "I went to an executive’s office, and I saw an X3 script. It was a lot fatter. I asked, ‘What is this draft?’ They were like, ‘Don’t worry about it.'"
"So I grabbed it, and opened the first page, and it said, ‘Africa. Kids dying from no water, and Storm creates a thunderstorm to save all these children.’ I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘This is the Halle Berry script because she hasn’t signed on yet. This is what she wants it to be. And once she signs on, we’ll throw it in the bin.’ I thought, if you’re going to do that to an Oscar-winning actress who plays Storm, I quit. I thought I’m mincemeat," Vaughn remembered.
Ultimately, the actor who played Union agreed to participate in the film. Nevertheless, it is uncertain whether she was aware of the purported conspiracy.
Berry has been forthright about the formidable obstacles women encounter in the film industry, particularly in her capacity as a person of color.
“As a Black woman, I have never had the luxury of just doing Oscar-worthy performances and movies. I don't even know what that is. My options at times are so limited, and that's the reality of it,” she elaborated during an interview in 2024. "So I don’t have the luxury to just sit and field Oscar buzz movies. That wasn’t my reality, and it’s still not my reality."
Business Times has reached out to Halle Berry for comments.
