Margot Robbie said she felt national pride at the outrage over the controversial Vanity Fair article that called her a “throwback” and described her physical appearance as sexy and composed even while naked, but only in character, according to the Sydney Morning Herald .
Margot Robbie spoke out about that weird “Vanity Fair” article https://t.co/DFBVdfeA1K pic.twitter.com/As9qUOQzq3
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) July 25, 2016
The August cover article in Vanity Fair was quickly condemned on social media as being sexist, patronizing, and altogether bizarre. The writer of the article, Rich Cohen, defended his comments by referring to Australia as being like America from 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback, which is why people go there for throwback people. He labeled it as both a joke and a compliment. He further defended his statements by saying he was “mostly joking” and that his real intention for saying so was to praise Australia for being a unified country.
Margot Robbie spoke about the interview, saying that she wasn’t altogether surprised at how strange the article turned out, because she knew the interview felt weird at the time.
“I remember thinking ‘that was a really odd interview, I don’t know how that’s going to come out’.”
Margot Robbie said that when she read the interview, she thought that the tone was “really weird,” and that she didn’t understand what the interviewer was trying to “play at.”
But what really surprised the Focus actress was the uproar that followed the publication of the article from her Australian fans. Noting that she reads content that she describes as “far more offensive, far more sexist, insulting, derogatory, disgusting” on a daily basis – so much so that she may even be desensitised to it by now – the actress said that she felt a great sense of “Aussie pride” from the reactions of her Australian fans.
“Like, ‘Don’t you mess with the Aussies: look what happens when you mess with Australia’.”
Margot Robbie reveals to The Project her ‘Aussie pride’ at Vanity Fair outrage https://t.co/awPwQM4J6G pic.twitter.com/8LdJBKZVt5
— Brisbane Times (@brisbanetimes) July 25, 2016
Jai Courtney, her co-star from Suicide Squad , also comes from Australia, and he jokingly calls his co-star a “bogan” because she heralds from the Gold Coast.
Margot Robbie & Jai Courtney Went Full Aussie On The Set Of “Suicide Squad” https://t.co/5uA1F2AemG @JennaGuillaume pic.twitter.com/v3VWN2wtfs
— BuzzFeed Australia (@BuzzFeedOz) July 26, 2016
Margot Robbie did have the last laugh, though, when Courtney, who comes from Sydney’s western suburbs, had to have a Queensland tattoo permanently emblazoned on his arm after he lost a bet to Margot over the outcome of this year’s State of Origin.
After losing a bet to @MargotRobbie Jai Courtney had to get the initials of her home state tattooed on #SuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/wD16HKznle
— BUILD Originals (@AOLBUILD) July 28, 2016
Margot Robbie says that while she cannot escape the paparazzi, she still finds some shots of her funny, like a shot of her falling off a surfboard. Fame has become less appealing for the Z for Zachariah actress as she continues to rise as a star. Margot Robbie still maintains a grounded lifestyle, even in Hollywood, where she lives in a shared house.
In other news, the actress is also set to star in and produce the psychological thriller Bad Monkeys , according to Slash Film .
This year is looking to be a great year for Margot Robbie, who is currently in the process of transitioning from a rising star to a bonafide Hollywood celebrity. This year, Robbie has had successful roles in Suicide Squad , The Legend Of Tarzan , and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot , and she has been widely regarded as having shown range and charisma in each of the roles that she managed to land.
Becoming a producer is a big step for Margot Robbie, with her first project being a film adaptation of Matt Ruff’s novel Bad Monkeys . Universal has optioned the rights to Ruff’s 2008 novel and intends to build the project around the About Time actress, who will produce the film alongside Scott Stubber and Dylan Clark, which suggests that some degree of creative control was given to Margot Robbie.
In the upcoming psychological thriller, she will be playing the role of Jane Charlotte, a woman who is arrested for murder but claims she is only acting on behalf of a secret group called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons (otherwise known as “bad monkeys”) who are dedicated to ridding the world of evil.
Margot Robbie is also rumored to act as a producer on a spin-off movie based on her Suicide Squad character, Harley Quinn.
[Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP]