Netflix continues to stand by its controversial movie, Cuties, following its indictment spearheaded by Tyler County, Texas.
The District Attorneyβs Office claims that Netflix, by distributing Cuties, βknowingly promote[d] visual material that depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child, which appeals to the prurient interest in sex and has no serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.β
But Netflixβs co-CEO Ted Sarandos says the movie is just βmisunderstood.β
βThe film speaks for itself. Itβs a very personal coming of age film, itβs the directorβs story and the film has obviously played very well at Sundance without any of this controversy and played in theaters throughout Europe without any of this controversy,β Sarandos says. βItβs a little surprising that in 2020 America weβre having a discussion about censoring storytelling.β
Cuties is a coming-of-age story of an 11-year-old Senegalese girl living in France who rebels against her conservative family values and joins a βfree-spirited dance crew.β
The movie caused an uproar as the minor actresses were often scantily clad as they danced provocatively.
Since the movieβs premiere, director MaΓ―mouna DoucourΓ© has repeatedly defended her film against its many critics.
βI received numerous attacks on my character from people who had not seen the film, who thought I was actually making a film that was apologetic about hypersexualization of children,β DoucourΓ© told Deadline in September, adding she hoped the haters would βunderstand that weβre actually on the same side of this battleβ after watching the movie.
βI really put my heart into this film,β she said. βItβs actually my personal story as well as the story of many children who have to navigate between a liberal Western culture and a conservative culture at home.β