Netflix apologizes for Cuties poster that many thought sexualized children

August 21st 2020, 11:59am

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Netflix found itself on the rare end of negative criticism and now they're issuing a swift mea culpa. The backlash emerged when the streamer released the key art for their forthcoming release, CUTIES, and the image was deemed inappropriate by many because they believed it presented a visual that sexualized young children.

CUTIES is a largely well-received French-language film that won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award at Sundance this year. The film follows Amy, an 11-year-old girl who joins a group of dancers named “The Cuties” at school and rapidly grows aware of her burgeoning femininity — upsetting her mother and her values. Netflix recently began promoting the movie ahead of its September 9, 2020, release on the platform. However, the accompanying artwork has provoked a storm of online criticism. One Twitter user called the image "disgusting" while another said, "Netflix really messed up here." There are many more examples on Twitter that display the outrage and it was certainly enough for Netflix to take notice. You can check out the poster in question below:

It's interesting that Netflix went this route with the first key art for the film in the States because the poster for the French theatrical release is very different. You can check out that image below:

Netflix has moved quickly to take down the offending image and already has replaced it. The streamer wouldn’t confirm whether the poster was made in-house or by an agency but they did issue the following apology via "Deadline":

"We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which premiered at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description."

I guess we can call this tone-deaf on Netflix's part because I'm not sure how many channels this went through before someone said "yes, that's the image we should use." I don't think it was their intention to sexualize young girls but there definitely needed to be more rational opinions in the room to change the promotional art before that was sent out.

Do YOU think the image was inappropriate?