Laverne Cox Gets Apology From Universal For Dubbing Voice With Male Actor

Universal Pictures International is in hot water after it was revealed that Laverne Cox's voice was dubbed to sound more manly. Trans actress Laverne Cox, who gained popularity as a star on Orange Is the New Black, stars in the revenge thriller Promising Young Woman alongside Carey Mulligan. The film is slated for release in Italy on May 13, but in an effort to promote the movie, Universal Pictures Italy shared a clip last week. It didn't go over well with the international LGBTQIA+ community.

In it, Cox's voice is dubbed over in Italian by voice actor Roberto Pedicini, and it was noted by The Guardian that the actress was given a deep-voiced tone. After an outcry from the public on social media, Universal Pictures International has issued a formal apology.

"We are deeply grateful to Laverne and the transgender community for opening our eyes to a bias that neither we nor many in our industry had recognised," a statement to The Guardian reads. "While there was no malicious intent behind this mistake, we are working diligently to fix it. We have begun redubbing Ms Cox’s voice with female actors in our international territories and are pushing back release dates to ensure the correct version is available.”

They continued. “We are sorry for the pain caused but are thankful that we can address the situation on this film and prevent similar mistakes from happening again on future projects." It has also been reported that Spain, a country that released the film last month, would be redubbing Cox's voice, as well.

[via]