Netflix is facing some serious controversy and legal ramifications after releasing the French film Cuties on the platform in September.
Now, according to CNN, the media company is being indicted on criminal charges for the “promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child” by a Texas grand jury. According to the indictment, the grand jury is accusing Netflix of promoting a film that appeals “to the prurient interest in sex” and stating that the movie has “no literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Keep reading for more details.
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The film first started receiving backlash when its promotional poster was released, which showed the young girls posing in skimpy outfits.
At the time, Netflix apologized on Twitter: "We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties. 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."
However, the controversy around this film has only grown since then.
On Facebook, Lucas Babin, Tyler County's District Attorney, explained that he "knew there was probable cause to believe it was criminal" after watching the film.
He wrote, "The legislators of this state believe promoting certain lewd material of children has destructive consequences. If such material is distributed on a grand scale, isn’t the need to prosecute more, not less?"
He is not the only one who takes issue with the film. A Change.org petition calling for people to cancel their Netflix subscriptions has garnered over 660,000 signatures.
Additionally, the controversy around this movie resulted in #CancelNetflix trending on Twitter.
However, Netflix does not believe that the charge or complaints hold any merit.
In response to the indictment, the company stated, "Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. This charge is without merit and we stand by the film."
