Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans have apologised for their “tasteless” joking about the sole female Avenger, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow.

The actors both issued apologies after teasing the Avengers: Age Of Ultron character with derogatory slurs.

When asked in an earlier video interview about the possibility of a romance between the Black Widow and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, Jeremy called her “a s**t” and Chris added that she’s “a complete w***e,” as they both laughed.

Chris, who plays Captain America/Steve Rogers, apologised and said they responded to a question “in a juvenile and offensive way that rightfully angered some fans”.

At the film’s UK premiere, he told Scarlett he was her “biggest fan”.

Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans (Matt Sayles/Invision)

Jeremy – who plays Hawkeye/Clint Barton – said he was sorry “that this tasteless joke about a fictional character offended anyway”.

He added: “Just poking fun during an exhausting and tedious press tour.”