Victoria Alonso, the executive vice president of production at Marvel, has revealed that she was unhappy with the sexualization of Black Widow in the 2010 film “Iron Man 2.”

Alonso, who was a producer on the film, said the portrayal of the character has always bothered her.

“It bothered me then and it bothers me now,” Alonso told TIME. “I remember thinking, ‘She’s not a thing.’ But how apropos: the world sees a sexy woman and thinks that because she is beautiful, that’s all she has to give.”

In the film, Scarlett Johansson’s character, Natasha Romanoff, was introduced as Tony Stark’s personal assistant, Natalie Rushman.

During one scene, Natasha beats Happy in a mock fight, leading Tony to ask Pepper who she is. Pepper replies, “Potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit.”

Tony then says, “I want one.”

The sexualization of Black Widow has been a topic of conversation in Hollywood, particularly in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

Johansson reflected on the sexualization of the character during a set visit in 2019.

Despite the success of “Captain Marvel,” the first female-led superhero film from Marvel released in 2019, it took until 2020 for Black Widow to receive her own solo film.

Some early reviews of the film have said that it focuses too much on setting up Florence Pugh’s character, Yelena Belova, as the next assassin to take on the mantle, rather than properly showcasing Natasha.

The portrayal of Black Widow as the lone female hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a significant period of time has also been criticized, as her outfits and characterization were often in contrast to the way male heroes were portrayed in the films.

There has been progress in terms of representation in the MCU, however, as Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel grossed over $1 billion at the box office.

Despite this success, the film was still the target of online trolls who hoped to bring down the movie’s scores on various review websites.

Overall, it is clear that there is still work to be done in terms of representation and portrayal of female characters in the MCU.

Alonso’s comments highlight the ongoing need for more nuanced and respectful representation of women in media and entertainment.

It is worth noting that Johansson’s Black Widow has come a long way since her introduction in “Iron Man 2,” and it is hoped that Pugh’s character, Yelena Belova, will not experience the same sort of treatment as she looks to be sticking around in the MCU for the foreseeable future.