Laverne Cox's Fans Condemn Male Voice Dubbing On Italian Version Of 'Promising Young Woman'

Fans of Laverne Cox and members of the LGBTQI+ community have spoken out about the use of a male actor's dubbing on the Italian version of Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman.

In one clip, released in order to promote the film, which is titled Una Donna Promettente for Italian release, fans quickly realised that Cox's character Gail was dubbed by a man. The clip of Una Donna Promettente was reportedly posted by Universal Pictures Italy on May 6, according to The Guardian.

In the since-restricted video of the Italian version of the film, Cox’s character talks to protagonist Cassie, played by Carey Mulligan. It turned out that The Orange Is the New Black star's voice is replaced in the Italian version by actor Roberto Pedicini.

After the release of the clip, Italian viewers immediately took to social media to voice their outrage.

'I was so excited for my Italian friends to get to see promising young woman in theatres... until I listened to one of the dubbed trailers. I wrote about the movie's original transphobic dubbing and how this highlights a bigger representation problem [sic],' wrote one user.

Another expressed their frustration with the casting as well as sadness for both Cox and Fennell.

'A cis man has been chosen to dub Laverne Cox in Italian. This can’t keep happening. Sick and tired. There must be something we can do. #promisingyoungwoman @Lavernecox@emeraldfennell so sorry for this![sic]'

One user went on to point out that this is not the first occasion in which Cox has been misgendered and been failed by the dubbing industry.

'So in the Italian dub of promising young woman, laverne cox is apparently dubbed by a man. the same was done with her role on orange is the new black. this is so transphobic it's actually ridiculous, [sic]' they tweeted.

In the Italian version of Orange Is The New Black, Cox's character Sophia Burset was voiced by male dubber Andrea Lavagnino, who has voiced her characters in the TV Series The Mindy Project and in the drama Doubt.

A cis man was also cast for Cox's Promising Young Woman character in Germany and Spain, according to The Guardian.

A spokesperson for Universal Pictures International told the publication in a statement: '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. 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.'

Cox has not yet commented on the controversy.

Anyone who has witnessed or experienced a hate crime is urged to call the police on 101, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit the True Vision website. In an emergency, always dial 999.

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