Netflix has come out to say they’re standing behind the controversial tween-twerking drama “cuties”.
Despite the intense backlash over the sexually charged movie that depicts underage girls, the company issued an official statement to various news outlets defending the French language cuties (mignonnes) which debuted this week on the streaming service.
A Netflix spokesman has this to say “cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children, it is an award winning film that tells a powerful story about the pressure that young girls face on social media and society while growing up.
We would encourage anyone that cares about these important issues to watch the movie ” he said.
The film has generated controversy over a dance sequence that shows underage girls dancing provocatively on the floor while touching themselves sexually. This controversy has promoted the hash tag #cancelNetflix to reach the number trending item on Twitter on Thursday. An online petition has also called for users to cancel their subscription with Netflix and has so far gotten six hundred signatures.
Netflix has previously apologized for the movie’s marketing campaign, that spotlighted the lewd dance sequence in the official poster and trailer of the film.
Netflix had acquired the movie after it was screened and gained good reception at the Sundance film festival in January.
CUTIES tells the story of an eleven year old French girl who tries to escape her oppressive Senegalese Muslim family by joining a twerking group.
Meanwhile Barack and Michelle Obama, who both have a production deal with Netflix have remained silent about the whole cuties controversy, as has Susan Rice the former Obama National Security advisor,who sits on Netflix’s board of directors.
