How David Bowie Opened Scarlett Johansson’s Eyes to Her Sexuality

Many people discover their sexualities in different ways. For Scarlett Johansson, it was the late singer David Bowe that helped the Black Widow actor develop that part of herself. So when Johansson finally got a chance to meet the legend, she could barely contain herself.

Scarlett Johansson had a brief singing career

While on her way to becoming one of the most popular actors in the world, Johansson dabbled in music. In her debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, Johansson sang covers for Tom Waits songs. The actor claimed she was a huge Waits fan from a young age.

“I first got into Tom Waits when I was, like, 11 or 12. A friend of mine, her dad listened to Tom Waits all the time, so I was introduced to his music pretty young,” The Island star said on Interview Magazine. “Then I had a boyfriend in high school who was a huge Tom Waits fan. I guess Tom Waits was always a part of my adolescence.”

Later on in life, the opportunity would present itself for Johansson to record an album. While tinkering around with song ideas, she revisited her music idol in Waits once again. She wanted to record the Tom Waits song “I Never Talk to Strangers” on her album. But putting a Tom Waits song on her album threw some fans off.

“But I think it was kind of confusing for some people because they couldn’t understand how a Tom Waits song could fit in with a Cole Porter song and stuff, and it turned into, ‘Why don’t we just incorporate more Tom Waits songs into this?’ So I just decided to do an entire album of Tom Waits songs,” Johansson confided.

How David Bowie helped Scarlett Johansson discover her sexuality

David Bowie offered his services to the Oscar nominee when Johansson was making her album. Similar to Waits, Johansson discovered she was a David Bowie fan from childhood. She even credits the singer for awakening her sexuality at a younger age.

“I learned I was a sexual being through David Bowie’s songs,” Johansson said according to Mirror.

Johansson also recalled how seeing Bowie, along with her other celebrity crush Patrick Swayze, also had an effect on her.

“I watched ‘Chinatown’ when I was nine. Patrick Swayze was my biggest crush. He still is. And David Bowie in ‘Labyrinth’. They opened my eyes to sexuality! Whoa! They both looked great in extremely tight pants,” Johansson shared according to Yahoo.

So when Johansson finally got a chance to meet David Bowie at a party in 2006, the Ghost in the Shell actor could barely find words.

“I actually met him a year or so ago, backstage at one of his concerts,” Johansson shared according to Bowie75. “I couldn’t tell him he was my first love because I couldn’t actually speak when he shook my hand.”

How David Bowie ended up working with Scarlett Johansson

Eventually, David Bowie went from being one of Scarlett Johansson’s celebrity crushes to her collaborator. The singer decided to lend his vocal talents to Johansson’s work after the Marvel alum realized she needed a singing partner.

“Bowie became involved in kind of an amazing way. It was incredible, actually. When I first wanted to do the Bette Midler-Tom Waits duet, I was thinking about who would I duet with, who would make it interesting. I thought, Maybe, you know, David Bowie,” Johansson said.

Although she said it jokingly at the time, a series of events led to Bowie actually agreeing to do the album. It was a dream come true for the aspiring singer.

“He already knew what parts he was going to sing. I just, you know, basically peed myself when I found out,” she confided.