Netflix defends ‘Cuties’ as ‘social commentary’ against sexualization of children

Netflix is defending its French film “Cuties” after a considerable backlash on social media, arguing it is a “social commentary against the sexualization of young children.”

“‘Cuties’ is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a Friday statement as the “CancelNetflix” hashtag trended to the top of Twitter on Thursday.

Critics have argued that the film sexualizes children. Netflix issued an apology last month for promotional material for “Cuties,” saying it was “deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork” which it said was “not representative” of the film.

Accused of sexualising children, Netflix has removed a promotional poster which showed young girls posing in revealing outfits in a new film called ”Cuties”. In a statement, Netflix stated it was “deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork”. pic.twitter.com/EIPH6JyhF7

— Apex World News (@apexworldnews) September 10, 2020

“It’s an award-winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up — and we’d encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie,” the spokesman said.

woah#CancelNetflix is currently trending in the US at #1 pic.twitter.com/SDUFqY8l6E

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) September 10, 2020

A Change.org petition that has collected more than 600,000 signatures calls for the movie to be removed from Netflix. 

1.6 million dislikes on the Cuties trailer. Everybody hates it except for the 39,000 woke sickos who think this is art. <ahref=”https: t.co=”” zyksulrub7″=””>pic.twitter.com/zyKsulrUb7

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 11, 2020

If you watch 11 year olds twerk, you’re a creep.

If you taught 11 year olds to touch themselves on camera, you’re abominable.

If you defend Netflix airing this child porn, you’re enabling abuse.#CancelNetflix

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) September 10, 2020

The film began streaming on Sept. 9, delivering an 88 percent positive rating from film critics but just a 3 percent positive audience score, according to the Rotten Tomatoes website.