Zoë Kravitz clarifies comments about being rejected from Dark Knight Rises role because she was too ‘urban’

‘Let’s all calm down and fact check before we write things that are untrue,’ says star

Zoë Kravitz has asked people to “calm down” after comments she made about being rejected from The Dark Knight Rises were misinterpreted.

In a post on her Instagram Story on Tuesday (8 March), the actor, who plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman in the newly releasedThe Batman, wrote: “I was NOT told I was too urban to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.

“I wanted to AUDITION for a small part in the film and was told (I do not know who said this but this is how it was worded to me ) that they were not going ‘urban’ on the part. This is something I heard a lot 10 years ago – it was a very different time.”

She added: “Although I’m very glad that we are attempting to evolve – let’s all calm down – as well as fact check before we write things that are untrue.”

The furore over Kravitz’s comments came after an interview with The Observer, in which Kravitz – who is of Dominican and Jewish-American ethnicity – addressed the rejection, saying that she doesn’t know “if it came directly from [the film’s director] Chris Nolan”.

“I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant,” Kravitz said.

“Being a woman of colour and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the colour of my skin, and the word ‘urban’ being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment.”

Kravitz and Robert Pattinson in ‘The Batman’ (AP)

It’s unknown what role Kravitz wanted to audition for, but it’s believed to have been the one of Catwoman’s roommate Jen, who was played by Juno Temple.

Kravitz appears in new Matt Reeves film The Batman, and is the latest star to play Catwoman after Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry and Anne Hathaway.

The film, which was released earlier this week, is on course to become the most-successful cinema release following the pandemic.