Scarlett Johansson Revealed She Had ‘A Lot Of Not-Great Feelings’ About Her 2nd Pregnancy
Scarlett Johansson and husband Colin Jost of SNL fame welcomed their first child together in August 2021. Their son Cosmo joined big sister Rose Dorothy Dauriac, 6, whom the Marvel star shares with ex-husband Romain Dauriac. Johansson recently spoke of feeling “protective” during both pregnancies as someone in the spotlight.
Scarlett Johansson didn’t want scrutiny during pregnancy
In a recent interview, Johansson described her trepidation at sharing pregnancy news, first during the filming of the 2015 blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron and then again last year. The Black Widow star wanted her physical changes to be processed on her own terms.
“I’ve been so protective of both pregnancies, not wanting to feel scrutinized in the public eye,” Johansson told Vanity Fair. “I wanted to be able to have my own feelings about my changing body without other people also telling me how they saw me, whether it was positive or negative.”
The Oscar nominee shared how outside opinions on a woman’s pregnancy could be a heavy burden to carry.
“I realized when I was pregnant with my son, it’s funny how much stuff people put on you when you’re pregnant,” Johansson explained. “Their hopes or their judgment or their desire, a lot of that is put on pregnant women.”
MCU star got a variety of responses on pregnancy news
The mixed bag of reactions Johansson received on sharing both her joy and concerns of her pregnancy made her feel she was being judged.
“I would have a lot of people saying things to me immediately, like, ‘How great, oh my God, that’s wonderful,’” she recalled. “And while I was definitely excited to be pregnant in some ways, I also had a lot of not-great feelings about it, and that would be scrutinized by, I’m talking about, like, women that were close to me. You expect it from men, but from women, it’s like, ‘Come on, girl, you’ve been through it.’”
Johansson noted the advancement in women’s rights and equality still has a ways to go when it comes to pregnancy.
“One friend, when I told her that I was pregnant, she knew I was trying to get pregnant, she was just like, ‘Oh s***. Great, but not great,’ and I was like, ‘You’re a true friend,'” Johansson said with a laugh. “I feel like a lot of things have moved forward in the past five years in terms of women’s empowerment, but that thing remains sort of in the Dark Ages. So much judgment it’s crazy.”
Scarlett Johansson may be taking some time off
With the recent launch of her skincare brand The Outset plus balancing her family and film projects, Johansson is hoping to take some much-needed time off this summer.
“I’ll focus on my family, which needs a lot of attention,” she remarked. “I have a film-TV production company, so we have 12 projects that we’re doing and we’re extremely spread thin. So that’s plenty for me – for right now.”
