Addario, who won the Pulitzer for her work in Pakistan, told the New York Times that when Johansson found out the initial set of funders included MbS, she rejected his involvement.
“Scarlett Johansson said absolutely not,” Addario told the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof. “She said: ‘This guy is perpetuating the war in Yemen. He has women in prison’.”
She added: “This was before the killing of Khashoggi, when he became one of the main people who wanted to fund the movie.”
MbS has been in the news of late over the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who died in the Saudi embassy in Turkey.
“I didn’t meet with him personally,” Addario said. “But my sense is that he probably – my movie got folded into this huge charm campaign. And that fact that he wanted to show the west that he was into Hollywood, he was into all the great things of the west … Do I want him associated with this movie? Obviously not. And thank God he’s not.”
In April, the crown prince headed to Hollywood to meet with studio heads and stars, including Dwayne Johnson. It was a visit that led to protests and last week CNN reporter Oliver Darcy tweeted a screen grab of an Instagram post from Johnson at the time stating it was a “pleasure” to meet him.
“Such a silly, clickbait post, Oliver,” Johnson fired back. “I’m surprised you’d post this. Go back and really read my words. I listened and learned then. As I listen and learn now. C’mon man.”
Addario’s work has focused on global conflicts and particularly the effect they have had on women.
Scarlett Johansson
