The writer and director of a controversial new film starring Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver are defending their project against accusations of transphobia.

“The Assignment,” previously called “(Re)assignment,” involves “an ace assassin who is double-crossed by gangsters and falls into the hands of rogue surgeon known as ‘The Doctor,’ who turns him into a woman,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film has received sharp criticism since it was initially announced in 2015 thanks to what many see as a problematic portrayal of a transgender narrative.

At Monday night’s New York City premiere, writer Denis Hamill and director Walter Hill spoke to Variety about the controversy.

“First of all, [Rodriguez’s character] is not transgender. To be transgender, you have to believe you are in the wrong body,” Hamill said. “He’s forced into a body into which he does not identify with. He’s gone through a sex change, but it’s not a gender change. It’s not at all making fun of or exploiting the people in the transgender community, who I have nothing but sympathy for. Politically, everybody who made this film is a progressive person. The last thing we wanted to do was insult anybody. It’s pure entertainment.”

Hamill said he doesn’t believe the film works against the transgender community.

“I’m certainly not here to make the journey of transgender people more difficult. As a matter of fact, I even find the suggestion insulting,” Hamill said Monday night. “We live in times where identity politics are rather prevalent, and people politicize almost everything.”

Rodriguez has also defended the project in the past.

In 2015, GLAAD sent a statement to The Huffington Post in response to initial reports about the film.

“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 sensationalisti c plot device,” Nick Adams, GLAAD’s Director of Programs for Transgender Media, told HuffPost. “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.”