Netflix asks federal judge to block prosecution over controversial 'Cuties' film



Attorneys for Netflix filed a complaint in federal court arguing that prosecution accusing them of spreading child pornography over their film "Cuties" would be a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

An online campaign called on viewers to cancel their membership in the video streaming service after they released the movie in 2020. Creators of the movie say it is a criticism of the sexualization of children, but many thought the movie itself contained offensive depictions of children being overtly sexualized.

In Oct. 2020, a grand jury indicted the company for the sexualized images of children under the age of 18.

In the filing on Thursday, the company argued that charges against the company would be unconstitutional.

"Netflix brings this complaint to enjoin Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin from abusing his office and infringing Netflix, Inc.’s constitutional rights," the company said.

"This one prosecutor — out of all the prosecutors in America — has indicted Netflix not just once but five times," the complaint continued. "Each indictment violates the United States Constitution and comes in retaliation against Netflix’s exercising its First Amendment rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress."

A petition calling on people to cancel their memberships garnered more than 660k signatures.

The company argued in its filing that it would suffer "irreparable harm" if it were forced to defend itself in state court against the "baseless" charges.

"The court has jurisdiction over this case and should grant Netflix the preliminary and permanent injunctive relief Netflix needs to vindicate its rights," the complaint concluded.

Here's more about the Cuties controversy:

Netflix film 'Cuties' shows left's push to normalize childhood sexuality | 'It's ALL Coordinated'www.youtube.com

Viewers rage against Netflix after 'Cuties' premiere features 'female breast nudity of a minor,' 'shots of breast, bums, and spread crotches of scantily clad' children



Hordes of streaming viewers are calling to "cancel" Netflix after the company recently debuted the film, "Cuties," insisting that the project — which tells a story of a young "sensual dance" troupe — is nothing more than pedophilia.

Clips of the film have begun circulating on social media, showing varying degrees of apparent, inappropriate sexualization of young girls.

What's a very brief history here?

In August, the streaming giant came under fire after a trailer and poster for the award-winning French film sexualized the young girls acting in the project.

In a statement, Netflix issued an apology, saying, "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."

What are the details?

So far, nearly 600,000 people have signed a Change.org petition titled, "Cancel Netflix Subscription."

The film has also prompted hashtag #CancelNetflix to trend on social media.

Earlier Thursday, IMDB's film page for "Cuties" described a moment in the film as "lawfully defined as pedophilia."

One of the parental warnings on the film read, "During one of the many highly sexualized & erotic dance scenes that purposefully exploit & objectify numerous scantily clad under age [sic] girls, one of the female child dancers lifts up her cropped top to fully display her bare breast. This is lawfully defined as pedophilia and can be extremely distressing to many viewers."

Further, another warning noted, "An 11 year old [sic] girl watches a female rap music video where naked women role play through dance, both heterosexual & lesbian sex acts. An 11 year old [sic] female dance group then mimics these sexual moves on themselves and on each other while the camera zooms in on their sexual body parts as they erotically writher [sic]. This can be highly distressing to many viewers."

"Female breast nudity of a minor during an erotic dance scene and lengthy & excessive closeup shots of breasts, bums, and spread crotches of scantily clad 11 year old [sic] girls during numerous sexualized dance routines," another warning added.

Internet archive website Wayback Machine captured the following shot of the IMDB page at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday:

Image source: Wayback Machine IMDB screenshot

Less than an hour later, the page appeared significantly different, and warned only that the movie "consists of 11 year old [sic] girls dancing very suggestively."

It also adds, "A girl watches a female rap music video where naked women role play through dance."

At the time of this writing, the IMDB page is significantly different:

Image source: IMDB screenshot

What else?

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks the film as 90% fresh.

The site declares that the film takes a "thoughtful look at the intricacies of girlhood in the modern age," and is a "coming-of-age film that confronts its themes with poignancy and nuance."

Decider's John Serba wrote, "Cuties is nuanced and gripping, a powerful and meritorious drama that doesn't deserve the type of ignorant condemnation it's endured."

Monica Castillo at RogerEbert.com added, "With Cuties, Doucouré announces herself as a director with a keen visual style who's unafraid to explore these cultural and social tensions."

Cuties | Official Trailer | Netflix www.youtube.com