Netflix is currently receiving severe backlash for the release of their original movie Cuties (2020) on September 8th, 2020. People have started canceling their Netflix subscriptions over the movie’s sexualizing 11-year-old characters. 

This movie’s plot follows a character named Amy, an 11-year-old girl who "tries to escape family dysfunction by joining a free-spirited dance clique named ‘Cuties’, as they build their self-confidence through the use of dance. 

This film is the subject of controversy after receiving accusations of sexualizing 11-year-old girls through the promotional pictures and scenes throughout the movie. One scene that created a substantial amount of backlash was the child dancers’ lifting up their cropped top to fully display her bare breast.

A large number of actresses and actors have surprisingly tweeted in support of this new film. Tessa Thompson, an actress in Avengers: Endgame states, “Cuties is a beautiful film. It gutted me at @sundancefest. It introduces a fresh voice at the helm. Maïmouna is a French Senegalese Black woman mining her experiences. The film comments on the hyper-sexualization of preadolescent girls. Disappointed to see the current discourse.”

The director of this film, Maïmouna Doucouré has received death threats because of this film for the lack of protection for these young girls. Netflix ended up removing the poster and also issuing an apology for its release of the inappropriate scenes. 

A petition on Change.org calls forwards calling customers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions over certain content exploiting children. This petition has now garnered over 600,000 signatures. 

By: Emilie Chi