Hamza Ali Abbasi has cancelled his Netflix subscription and is urging everyone to do the same after Netflix ignored criticism and went ahead with the release of Cuties. The streaming platform had received immense backlash from outraged audiences who accused them of ‘sexualising’ young girls in the film.
Sharing a picture of his cancellation, Hamza said: “Despite global condemnation, Netflix still went ahead and released Cuties.”
“Yup, now we have softcore pedo porn on a mainstream media platform. That’s a deal-breaker for me”, he said further. “Can’t do much, but what I can do is cancel my Netflix subscription.”
Hamza also urged his followers to do the same.
Earlier, Hamza had expressed his “horror” to see a show in the “mainstream blatantly sexualising 11-year-old kids.” He had signed a petition calling for Netflix to cancel the movie and had stated that he would cancel his subscription if they don’t. Till the filing of this report, 205,042 had signed the petition.
According to details, the film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is about Amy, a Senegalese Muslim girl who lives in a poor neighbourhood in France. After she develops a fascination with dance, she joins a dance group called the ‘Cuties’.
Meanwhile, the film’s official synopsis states: “Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.”
The film is originally a French-language film titled Mignonnes. It was written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, who is also Senegalese. The director, in an interview, had shared that the inspiration for the film came from seeing an amateur talent show in Paris.
“There were these girls on stage dressed in a really sexy fashion in short, transparent clothes. They danced in a very sexually suggestive manner,” said Doucouré. “There also happened to be a number of African mothers in the audience. I was transfixed, watching with a mixture of shock and admiration. I asked myself if these young girls understood what they were doing.”
However, parents and audiences say that the film exploits and sexualises children and demanded Netflix to remove the film from the streaming platform. Multiple petitions were filed on change.org in an attempt to force Netflix to cancel the movie.
“The movie Cuties shows children dressed provocatively, dancing sexually and is rated only for adult viewers,” read a petition. “It was created for the entertainment of adults who are paedophiles. Please sign the petition to protect our children from exploitation in movies.”
Following the backlash, Netflix apologised for the “inappropriate” artwork used for the film.
The film’s original poster showed the film’s cast – all children – in midriff-baring uniforms and short shorts striking various dance poses.
