Netflix Apologises After Using ‘Inappropriate’ Poster to Promote French film 'Cuties' 

US streaming service Netflix issued an apology on social media after people came together and signed a petition for the removal of a French teen comedy-drama film 'Cuties.' 

The French film was pointed for its content after people called it inappropriate and said that it sexualized children. As per Money Control report, the film which was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2020, has been is written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré. 

It revolves around the story of a 11-year-old Senegalese Muslim girl who fights against her family and gets an escape in a "free-spirited dance crew." 

After days of blacklash, the official Twitter handle of Netflix tweeted the apology, "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."

As per a BBC report, a petition claiming it "sexualizes an 11-year-old for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles" attracted 25,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. A Twitter user wrote, "It sickens me that Netflix is using its global platform to circumvent child pornography laws by airing Cuties, a movie about an 11-year old girl twerking her way to stardom. Pubescent girls dancing sensually can only lead to paedophilia and Netflix needs to be strongly censured." 

Meanwhile, Netflix has taken down the offending poster and already has replaced it. However, in a recent interview, director Maïmouna Doucouré spoke about the inspiration behind the film. 

"This is most of all an uncompromising portrait of an 11-year-old girl plunged in a world that imposes a series of dictates on her. It was very important not to judge these girls, but most of all to understand them, to listen to them, to give them a voice, to take into account the complexity of what they’re living through in society, and all of that in parallel with their childhood which is always there, their imaginary, their innocence," Doucouré said.  

The film will be aired on September 9 on Netflix.

Check out the post below: 

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.

— Netflix (@netflix) August 20, 2020

Where did you guys land on the appropriateness of the soft core pedo porn you plan to release in September? pic.twitter.com/wBOaKp5Vgy

— Beard and Circus (@Shooter_ptpx01) August 20, 2020

So “Cuties” was a French film that went to Sundance. Netflix gets ahold of it , re-titles it something questionable and slaps a hyper-sexual poster on it. I haven’t watched yet so I will reserve my feelings about the actual film...but the diff in the two posters says a lot. pic.twitter.com/2YkkCs05D2

— Blood Moonbeam (@BloodMoonbeam) August 20, 2020