Scarlett Johansson has said comments she made on the “authentic casting” debate have been taken out of context and asserted that she supports diversity in film.

The actor came under fire in 2017 for playing an Asian character in Ghost in the Shell and canceled plans last year to portray a transgender man in the upcoming film Rub & Tug, after transgender actors and advocates questioned the casting.

In a recent interview with As If magazine, she said actors should be allowed to play any person “because that is my job and the requirement of my job”.

On Saturday, Johansson said those comments were subsequently edited in other publications for “clickbait”.

“I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and Art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness,” she said in a statement.

“I recognize that in reality, there is a wide spread discrepancy amongst my industry that favors Caucasian, cisgender actors and that not every actor has been given the same opportunities that I have been privileged to.”