Michelle Rodriguez defends transgender role

Michelle Rodriguez has dismissed criticism her new role as a transgender hitman is transphobic, because the bisexual actress would never choose a role to hurt the LGBTQ community.

(Re) Assignment features the Furious 7 star as a male assassin, who is given a sex change operation by Sigourney Weaver's deranged surgeon as she seeks revenge for the death of her brother.

The movie, directed by Walter Hill, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday (14Sep16), but it was widely panned by critics, and members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community have blasted the film for making light of a serious medical procedure.

Some protesters have even called for a boycott of (Re) Assignment, but Michelle is standing by the movie and has brushed off the backlash.

"What is transgender? Is it a psychological thing or is it an operation, and does the LGBTQ community own the operation? Do they have a branding right over a sex change?" she retorted at the premiere.

"Are they mad that somebody decided to take their branded transgender operation and use it on heterosexual people?'

Rodriguez claims the film's plot should not be taken seriously as it was created as a "B-movie noir genre comic book take", and as a proud bisexual, she has no issue with the fictional story.

She continued, "I'm bisexual. I do guys. I do girls. You can't really argue with me because I'm you. So if I do a movie, I'd never do a movie with the intention of offending anybody in the LGBT community because I'm a part of it."