Sofia Boutella is a name and face that you are about to see everywhere. The 35-year-old actress is set to star in two summer blockbusters, each showing off her ability to kick ass, and commit to unconventional characters. First, she is starring as the title character in the 2017 reboot of The Mummy, alongside Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, and later she is co-starring in Charlize Theron's ultimate shoot 'em up action movie, Atomic Blonde. With her new flashy roles comes a heap of publicity. And as a former professional dancer for Madonna, the Algerian performer is used to being in the spotlight — but not to this degree.
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Considering her quick rise from supporting roles in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond to headlining hits, Boutella already seems fairly adjusted to interviews, including the uncomfortable ones. In particular, there is a new video from Vanity Fair that has readers confused and upset on behalf of the actress. The video accompanies a short write-up on Boutella from the magazine, labeling her the an actress on the rise. The digital video is meant to showcase her eclectic personality, but instead, it reveals a gross trend in celebrity profiles.
In the video, Boutella dances around, says "fuck," and talks about her career. And then, at the last minute, a man's voice from off-screen asks her "When was the last time you had sex?" Her face drops and she stares at the camera then down at her feet. Instead of answering the (completely inappropriate) prompt, she asks what time it is, says "that's it," and then walks off. It's weird to watch and even weirder that they included it in the final cut. What would a response to this question have proved? Would it have elevated the conversation? Given us new insight on her as an artist and performer? Nope. All it did was make her, and everyone watching, feel really uncomfortable.
Vanity Fair is far from the only publication that adopts a male gaze (and mindset) when talking to famous women (remember this and this?), but that doesn't that it goes unnoticed. It's confusing why this question is included in the video, especially considering that it starts out so playful and positive. Nothing in it hints at the topic of sex or relationships. It's a thinly-veiled attempt to create provocative content, and viewers weren't into it at all.
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"What a disgusting last question??? Had nothing to do with any other part of the interview and it's not relevant to her life and how she's progressed?" one woman wrote in response to the video on the magazine's Facebook page. Many commenters shared the same reaction:
"That was a disrespectful last question."
"Way to go Vanity Fair- discount everything she just said with that asinine final question."
"Was that last question supposed to be funny? She was clearly uncomfortable."
This moment begs the easily answerable question, "Is it necessary to ask a celebrity about their sex life?" (The answer is no.)
Watch the full video below, which starts off as innocent and ends as icky.
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