Scarlett Johansson Reveals the Popular Nickname That Makes Her Cringe — And Why

Scarlett Johansson is one of the most bankable stars on the planet, an Oscar nominee, and the face of a decade of Marvel. And yet, the thing she cannot escape is the one thing she cannot stand: people calling her 'ScarJo'.

The nickname she never asked for

Johansson has said repeatedly that she never picked the nickname and does not like it. She has wondered who first slapped it on her and how it got so normal so fast. On a recent Jenna and Friends segment on TODAY, she joked that the timing lines up with another early-2000s pop-culture tag and said, 'I am convinced J.LO invented it, because it happened like around the same time.' To be clear, she was kidding, but the point stands: someone coined it, it stuck, and she has to live with it while whoever cooked it up gets the cultural mileage.

For her, the whole thing is a perfect example of how celebrity culture shrinks a person down to a catchy label that is easier to market than a full name.

'It is a laziness ... People cannot actually say the whole name? It is just bizarre ... so Cate Blanchett is not, like, 'CaBla'? Why is that? Why do I have to get stuck with [ScarJo]?'

Why it bugs her

Johansson has described the nickname as tacky, lazy, flippant, and insulting. She associates it with pop-star packaging rather than acting, and when someone actually uses it to her face, her read is simple: 'You do not know me.' In other words, it does not feel familiar — it feels impersonal.

Reminder: the career attached to the full name

Since we are here talking about labels, quick refresher on the work behind the name Scarlett Johansson — starting indie and stretching to Marvel heroine and back again. Rotten Tomatoes critic and audience scores included because context matters:

• Ghost World (2001) — Rebecca — 93% critics | 84% audience
• Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003) — Griet — 73% critics | 68% audience
• Lost in Translation (2003) — Charlotte — 95% critics | 85% audience
• Her (2013) — Samantha — 95% critics | 82% audience
• Under the Skin (2013) — The Female — 83% critics | 55% audience
• Lucy (2014) — Lucy — 67% critics | 47% audience
• Jojo Rabbit (2019) — Rosie Betzler — 81% critics | 94% audience
• Marriage Story (2019) — Nicole Barber — 95% critics | 85% audience
• Black Widow (2021) — Natasha Romanoff — 79% critics | 91% audience
• Asteroid City (2023) — Midge — 76% critics | 62% audience

Bottom line: She is the highest-grossing actor ever and an Oscar nominee, and she has made it very clear she does not want the pop-y shortcut. If you like her work, the least you can do is use the name on the poster.