Texas lawmaker calls for Netflix to be investigated for potential violations of child exploitation, pornography laws



Texas Rep. Matt Schaefer (R) is calling for the state's attorney general to investigate the Netflix film, "Cuties," for potential violations of child exploitation and child pornography laws.

The award-winning French film and its Netflix distributor have been under fire for the last several weeks over the film's decidedly graphic depiction of a troupe of 11-year-old "sensual" dancers.

What are the details?

Schaefer announced the plans on Twitter amid the #CancelNetflix boycott that began trending on social media following the film's release.

He wrote, "I have asked Texas Attorney General Paxton's office to investigate the @netflix film 'Cuties' for possible violations of child exploitation and child pornography laws."

At the time of this writing, Schaefer's tweet has been liked more than 37,000 times.

I have asked Texas Attorney General Paxton’s office to investigate the @netflix film “Cuties” for possible violatio… https://t.co/TSU8oKRDz0
— Matt Schaefer (@Matt Schaefer)1599771630.0

'Social commentary against the sexualization of young children'

French-Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré told Refinery29 that the work has been misinterpreted.

"Cuties is a mirror of our society, and I hope that we can all look at each other, and work together to make a better world," Doucouré insisted. "Imagine if all that energy that was devoted to blindly criticizing my film could be used towards protecting those who need it, and offering new role models."

A Netflix spokesperson told TheBlaze that the film "is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children."

"It's an award winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up — and we'd encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie," a spokesperson for the company told TheBlaze on Friday.

A petition calling for people to cancel their Netflix subscriptions over the controversial film has received more than 614,000 signatures at the time of this reporting.

Cuties | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com

SICK: Netflix wants viewers to see 'Cuties' — which sexualizes young children — because it's a 'social commentary against the sexualization of young children'



Netflix has broken its silence on the calls for a boycott against the streaming giant for its promotion of the highly controversial film "Cuties."

In a statement to TheBlaze, a spokesperson encouraged people who care about issues such as the sexualization of children to watch the film.

What are the details?

In a statement to TheBlaze, a spokesperson for the streaming giant said, "Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. It's an award winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up — and we'd encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie."

"Cuties" is an award-winning French film that centers around four 11-year-old girls in a "sensual dance" troupe and is rated TV-MA in the U.S. — for mature audiences only.

So far, more than 608,000 people have signed a Change.org petition titled "Cancel Netflix Subscription."

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

'Lawfully defined as pedophilia'

The film, according to its IMDB page at one point, features "female breast nudity of a minor," "shots of breast, bums, and spread crotches of scantily clad" little girls.

Another apparently deleted parental warning added, "During one of the many highly sexualized & erotic dance scenes that purposefully exploit & objectify numerous scantily clad under age 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."

Yet another warning read, "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."

Company is 'desensitizing millions of viewers'

This is the second time in as many months that the film stirred up a heavy social media response.

In August, Netflix took fire after debuting a concerning trailer and poster for the film, which clearly sexualized the young actresses.

At the time, 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."

In a Thursday statement, Parents Television Council program director Melissa Henson said, "Although there is a danger that little girls will be attracted to this film, the far greater risk is the way this film normalizes the sexualization of little girls. [Netflix] is desensitizing millions of viewers at home by asking them to be entertained by it."

Cuties | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.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