Famke Janssen has appeared in four "X-Men" movies as Jean Grey. But she did not appear in the latest installment in the franchise, "X-Men: Apocalypse," which debuted in May 2016.
"I didn't give up, they gave up on me. There's a big difference," Famke told Us Weekly in regards to why Sophie Turner plays the younger, 1980s version of Jean Grey.
The 52-year-old model-actress believes sexism is why she was replaced.
"It was [the producers'] decision, you know? It's like what happens in life. You get, well not to me thankfully. But people, just like men trade women in for a younger model version. It's like that," she said.
This is not the first time Famke has spoken out about sexism in the franchise. She spoke to "Entertainment Weekly Radio" about Sophie in 2016, explaining that she had emailed Famke wanting some pointers on playing Jean. Famke explained that she told Sophie that she did not need any and that she was excited to see what the 21 year old would do with the character.
"In the 'X-Men' series, they've been doing this for years," Famke said. "Although women, it's interesting because they're replaced, and the older versions — or more mature, whatever the politically correct version of that is — are never to be seen again. Whereas the men are allowed to be both ages. Sexism. I think that I should be back along with my younger version and the way that we've seen it with Magneto and Professor X."
But according to Famke, there's been little interest in her idea, which she says she pitched to producers.
"I have not heard any feedback on that, other than total radio silence," she admitted.