As popular as the actress is, Scarlett Johansson has been something of an easy target for jokes on social media for the past couple of years due to her controversial decisions to take on a Japanese character in Ghost in the Shell and a trans role in the aborted Rub & Tug biopic. Yesterday, some new comments from the star were released in which she stated her belief that “as an actor I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal.”

Unfortunately, this quote didn’t go down well online, to say the least, as many felt Johansson’s words made light of the need for greater diversity in Hollywood by comparing minorities to trees. As you can imagine, there’s a range of responses out there, with some blasting the actress with angry comments and others penning intelligent arguments. But mostly, people just made...