Scarlett Johansson: I’m no role model

LONDON — Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has spoken for the first time since she made the decision to step down as an Oxfam ambassador, over a row regarding her ties with an Israeli company in the occupied West Bank.

The actress said she felt uncomfortable with the responsibility that came with being in the spotlight, and that she “never wanted to step into those shoes”.

In an interview with Dazed magazine, Johansson said: “I don’t see myself as being a role model. How could I wake up every day and be a normal person if I was completely aware that my image was being manipulated on a global platform. How could I sleep?

“You have to have peace of mind. You’ve got to be able to protect those things. How else could you exist? You’d go crazy, anybody would go crazy.”

Last month, the actress signed on as the first global brand ambassador of SodaStream International Ltd. The 29-year-old said she had a “fundamental difference of opinion” with humanitarian group Oxfam after it said it opposed all trade from Israeli settlements because they said it was illegal and denied Palestinian rights.

Johansson said last week that she was a “supporter of economic cooperation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine”.

Oxfam took issue with Johansson, noting it was “considering the implications of her new statement and what it means for Ms Johansson’s role as an Oxfam global ambassador”.

The actress had served as Oxfam’s global ambassador since 2007. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH