People Call for Boycott, Removal of Netflix's 'Cuties'

French film "Cuties" sparked much controversy after its release on Netflix in the United States on September 9. The film, directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, is the story of an 11-year-old Senegalese girl in Paris who runs away from her family to join a dance group. On Monday, Doucouré told Variety the controversy "started with the artwork," which originally depicted the young cast wearing revealing dance outfits and posing suggestively; the artwork has since been changed. The movie was met with much backlash from all sides of the political spectrum for allegedly sexualizing children. Doucouré said the movie was intended to combat child exploitation, saying "we have the same fight." This story was covered by outlets on all sides of the political spectrum. Slate published a piece criticizing backlash to the film, calling it "QAnon delusion and right-wing moral panic, with a smattering of leftist outrage on the side." Some right-rated outlets responded to Slate's piece by pointing to the bipartisan backlash and poor reviews the film received from critics. Many on the right argued having children act out suggestive scenes amounted to child exploitation, and that the film fits the legal definition of child pornography.