Disney and Netflix are generally viewed as two of the most bulletproof brands in the industry that can do no wrong in the eyes of many fans, but both have found themselves caught up in a storm of recent controversy. The Mouse House are facing widespread backlash for Mulan‘s connections to a region of China linked to human rights violations, while the world’s biggest streaming service are under fire for releasing a movie that’s angered a whole lot of people.
Cuties is a critically acclaimed and award-winning coming-of-age drama directed by an up-and-coming filmmaker that thought she’d lucked out in a big way when her feature debut was picked up by Netflix to be distributed to over 180 million subscribers worldwide, but one misjudged poster from the marketing team has seen it become one of the most talked about titles of the year for all the wrong reasons.
The internet immediately launched petitions and called on subscribers to cancel Netflix after widespread indignation at the thought that Cuties was sexualizing young children, even though it seems very unlikely that any of these people had actually seen the movie for themselves. Things then took on an even more bizarre angle when supporters of the nonsensical QAnon conspiracy theory jumped on the bandwagon in an attempt to further their agenda.
Cuties might have cracked the Top 10 most-watched list, but the calls to boycott Netflix haven’t quietened down in the slightest, and you can check out some of the reactions going around online down below.
Pedophilia is a crime. Child pornography is a crime. Stop sexualizing minors and normalizing pedophilia. This is fucking disgusting @netflix #CancelNetflix https://t.co/cM8aPorROa
— 🌻 (@kozmicsblues) September 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/BradleyCongress/status/1304132807858544641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304132807858544641%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2020%2F09%2F12%2Fcuties-movie-netflix-backlash%2F
https://twitter.com/vanliloh/status/1304125107179270144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304125107179270144%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2020%2F09%2F12%2Fcuties-movie-netflix-backlash%2F
Me this week, after everything with Mulan and Cuties. #CancelNetflix pic.twitter.com/QAKRBwuiIt
— nagajuseyo (@STae172) September 10, 2020
‘Someone Needs to Go to Jail For This’:
Americans Rage as Netflix Promotes Pedophilia and #CancelNetflix Trends #1 on Twitterhttps://t.co/oDX3L9o6jl
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 10, 2020
Netflix is comfortable with this. Plenty of people will defend it. This is where our culture is at. https://t.co/UlqEmXALmd
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) September 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/MillennialPot/status/1304140109491519488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304140109491519488%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2020%2F09%2F12%2Fcuties-movie-netflix-backlash%2F
https://twitter.com/DeanBrowningPA/status/1304118043912671232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304118043912671232%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2020%2F09%2F12%2Fcuties-movie-netflix-backlash%2F
https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/1304124268901404672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304124268901404672%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2020%2F09%2F12%2Fcuties-movie-netflix-backlash%2F
Child pornography is illegal in America. #CancelNetflix
— DeAnna Lorraine 🇺🇸 (@DeAnna4Congress) September 10, 2020
It’s time we all end our Netflix accounts. I haven’t had one in over 10 years or close to it I have a fire stick. #CancelNetFlix https://t.co/9CcAwbqENA .@BarackObama you allowed this to happen and you said nothing as little kids are sexualized and Abused but your Corp. pic.twitter.com/IERkke689D
— 🇺🇸 🍊 Antoine Tucker (@montaga) September 10, 2020
Bye, Netflix. And it wasn’t even that hard.
If you haven’t cancelled yours yet, but deep down you know you should-just do it.
It feels good to do the right thing. #CancelNexflix pic.twitter.com/pxNIvsibtm
— Joe Seales (@JoeSeales) September 12, 2020
#CancelNexflix put your money where your mouth is.
As a father, I cannot believe they approved this.
If you want to expose child sexualization, don't try to accomplish this by sexualizing children. Netflix is known for its docs. pic.twitter.com/tKa5bbKqmr
— Tim O'Neal 🇺🇲 (@timonealpt) September 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/imanna_oop/status/1304625777615405056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304625777615405056%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2020%2F09%2F12%2Fcuties-movie-netflix-backlash%2F
.@netflix child porn "Cuties" will certainly whet the appetite of pedophiles & help fuel the child sex trafficking trade. 1 in 4 victims of trafficking are children. It happened to my friend's 13 year old daughter. Netflix, you are now complicit. #CancelNetflix pic.twitter.com/GI8KFH7LFq
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) September 12, 2020
Netflix is now gaslighting people by pretending the problem with Cuties is the artwork and not the shots of 11 year old girls doing sexual dances with close up shots of their crotches + having them smack their private parts. These people are disgusting. #CancelNexflix pic.twitter.com/SqYj9MGQce
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/christ7613/status/1305153571755884544
https://twitter.com/realGrimmer/status/1305150539034955778
After reviewing both sides of the issue regarding the movie “Cuties”; we are without reservation canceling our Netflix subscription. #CancelNetflix
— Barry Urbach (@Barreez) September 13, 2020
@netflix I have decided to cancel my subscription to Netflix. Your product is no longer an interest for me to support a company that promotes the victimization or the sexualizing of children.
— Brenny B. (@brenny_) September 13, 2020
Director Maimouna Doucoure has been receiving death threats over one out of context image that doesn’t reflect the content of her movie, while Tessa Thompson has also faced criticism for defending Cuties. And looking at the latest developments, it would unfortunately appear that the backlash is set to continue for a while yet.
