Avengers star Jeremy Renner unapologetic about off-colour Black Widow comment
'I got in a lot of internet trouble,' Renner told late night host Conan O'Brien
Jeremy Renner is standing by controversial comments he made during the Avengers: Age of Ultron press tour when he called Scarlett Johansson's character, Black Widow, a "slut".
Despite issuing an apology after fans accused him of being sexist, the actor refused to back down from his off-colour statement in an interview on Monday's Conan.
"I got in a lot of internet trouble," Renner told late night host Conan O'Brien of the reaction he received. "Mind you, I was talking about a fictional character, and fictional behaviour," he said.
Renner, who plays Hawkeye in the blockbuster movie, also suggested that a male with the same romantic past as Black Widow should also be frowned upon too.
"Conan, if you slept with four of the six Avengers, no matter how much fun you had, you'd be a slut."
Robert Downey Jr. made headlines for walking out of an interview with a Channel 4 News journalist who asked the Iron Man actor questions about his past troubles with drugs and alcohol.
Mark Ruffalo, who plays Hulk in the movie, put the heat on Marvel by expressing his personal disappointment with the lack of Black Widow merchandise turned out for the film.
Despite the controversies, the film took in a whopping $187.7 million US at the North American box office in its opening weekend, the second-biggest opening weekend ever.