Netflix faced backlash after premiering the trailer and poster for French coming-of-age film Cuties, and now the streaming giant has addressed concerns.
When the trailer arrived online this week, a promotional image for Cuties, which depicts prepubescent girls, sparked accusations that the image was sexualizing underage girls.
The poster has since been removed, and Netflix issued an apology. The film's description on the streaming service has since been changed, too.
"We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties," Netflix tweeted. "It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description."
Known in its home country as Mignonnes, the movie drops on Netflix on Sept. 9, but it premiered during the Sundance film festival back in January. It was met with a positive response from critics following its premiere, but the trailer for the worldwide Netflix release sparked intense debate online.
One Change.org petition against the film is entitled "I want Netflix to remove the new movie Cuties as it promotes child pornography," and has since garnered over 70,000 signatures. In the description, the person behind the petition wrote that Cuties "sexualizes an 11-year-old for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles." Director Maimouna Doucouré, as BBC pointed out, has said that Cuties is itself critical of the sexualization of young girls.
