Rebel Wilson doesn't want only gay actors to play gay roles

Rebel Wilson doesn't believe an actor's sexuality should matter when casting them as a gay person.

The actress and comedian, who announced she is in a same-sex relationship with Ramona Agruma in 2022, spoke about comedy tackling sensitive topics and casting decisions on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on Sunday.

"I don't think there's a different standard, it's more this thing about - if you are something then now you're allowed to joke about it," she said. "But if you're not (you can't). That's kind of what's currently happening. So it's not really gendered.

"I think that's hard. It's going into this territory of like saying, 'Well, only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles', which I think is total nonsense."

She continued: "I think you should be able to play any role that you want. But I always think, in comedy, your job is to always flirt with that line of what's acceptable.

"Sometimes you do step over it, but at the end of the day, you are trying to entertain people," Wilson said. "If people are just always being safe and protective, you're not going to get good comedy from that."

The Pitch Perfect star is the latest gay star to be critical of sexuality-based casting, after Andrew Scott told Screen Rant he doesn't "love the idea" of being cast on the basis of his sexuality matching that of a character.