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Scarlett Johansson Blames "Extreme Sexism" for Hoopla Over Obama E-Mails
Wednesday August 6, 2008

Barack Obama and Scarlett Johansson

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images; Jason Merritt/FilmMagic

Scarlett Johansson is blaming "extreme sexism" for the hoopla made over her comments that she had an e-mail relationship with Barack Obama.

"I kept thinking to myself, 'God, if this was just, like, Kal Penn or George Clooney, or any of the other [Obama] surrogates or supporters ... there wouldn't be [any] question about it," the actress, 23, tells the Associated Press. "Nobody would even talk about it."

In June, Johansson said she had a "personal dialogue," via email, with the Democratic presidential hopeful.

Obama later downplayed her remarks, saying she only sent one email to his assistant, who forwarded it to him. "Suddenly we have this email relationship," Obama told the Washington Post.

See photos of stars on the campaign trail.

But Johansson now tells the AP she didn't mean to suggest the two were pen pals.

"I was merely trying to express my delight at Obama's commitment in his campaign in every aspect, and his interest and his support [in] his surrogates, and his staff and his fellows, and how wonderful and refreshing that is," she says. "And it was manipulated into such an unfortunate media frenzy of kind of a non-story."

Johansson – who kisses Penelope Cruz in her new movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona (out Aug. 15) – also says she isn't in a rush to walk down the aisle with Ryan Reynolds.

The two announced their engagement in May.

"We're just enjoying our time," she says. "We're just recently – very recently – engaged. So, you know, we're just taking it easy. And no big plan yet.

"But it's a good time, and we're just ... enjoying our time to be young and engaged," she adds. "I mean, I'm 23. There's no reason to rush into it. Everything feels very natural and relaxed."

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