Ever since Netflix dropped its latest movie, "Cuties," conservatives have repeatedly said the film glamorizes pedophilia and is nothing more than child pornography. Even the National Center on Sexual Exploitation condemned the movie.
"While we commend Director Maïmouna Doucouré for exposing the very real threats to young girls having unfettered access to social media and the internet, we cannot condone the hypersexualization and exploitation of the young actresses themselves in order to make her point," the nonprofit said in a statement Friday. "The audience does not need to see the very long scenes with close-up shots of the girls’ bodies; this does nothing to educate the audience on the harms of sexualization."
Democrats have mostly been silent about the film... until now. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) broke from her fellow Democrats on Friday when she tweeted, condemning Netflix for fueling "the appetite of pedophiles."
.@netflix child porn "Cuties" will certainly whet the appetite of pedophiles & help fuel the child sex trafficking trade. 1 in 4 victims of trafficking are children. It happened to my friend's 13 year old daughter. Netflix, you are now complicit. #CancelNetflix pic.twitter.com/GI8KFH7LFq
— Tulsi Gabbard ?? (@TulsiGabbard) September 12, 2020
Conservatives applauded the congresswoman for being outspoken about the situation:
She’s 100% right. This shit has to stop. These people and the democrats viciously defending it are trying to normalize pedophelia!!! https://t.co/zDXFaTyBoT
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 12, 2020
Ending child sex trafficking isn't a partisan issue. Thank you, @TulsiGabbard https://t.co/J8XffI58mO
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) September 12, 2020
This is complete darkness & evil and the media is silent. Thank you @tulsigabbard for speaking out. https://t.co/oS3DaSzyBR
— Antonio Sabáto Jr ???? (@AntonioSabatoJr) September 12, 2020
I couldn't agree more with @TulsiGabbard! This is done with intent by Hollywood to hide in plain sight their support for these illegal and immoral activities...this is simply an attempt by @netflix to mainstream this and numb the public to how bad this is... https://t.co/Uq4Y7XxCIH
— Tony Shaffer (@T_S_P_O_O_K_Y) September 12, 2020
I agree w/ @TulsiGabbard that Netflix is complicit ...do any of the @netflix execs have daughters? (If they do, they probably are not allowed to watch Netflix while their parents ‘laugh all the way to the bank’) RT if you agree https://t.co/I2KySc2hEA
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) September 12, 2020
Thank you @TulsiGabbard for speaking out. This is beyond. https://t.co/vBcNhbHYUO
— Dr Drew (@drdrew) September 12, 2020
Tulsi, are you sure you should be associated with the Dems? You seem to have more common sense and morality than the entire party combined. https://t.co/F8dzQ5hcGF
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) September 12, 2020
thank you for posting this.
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) September 12, 2020
Tulsi, sounds like you should join the Republican Party!
— JT Lewis (@thejtlewis) September 12, 2020
Thank you for speaking out @TulsiGabbard
— Burgess Owens (@BurgessOwens) September 12, 2020
Tulsi I really hope this is a moment where you see who’s fighting for the right things and come join our side. The Democrats have moved too far left and we have room for you.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 12, 2020
Of course, some Democrat-aligned supporters defended the film, saying it's "social commentary."
The film Cuties is a social commentary AGAINST child sexualization and exploitation. But social media and the mainstream media is all about Puritanical false accusations because this is America, and this is how we roll.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) September 12, 2020
if you ... if you think it’s child porn ... if you think it’s child porn why would you post a picture of it ... https://t.co/ufFmTsWgg8
— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) September 12, 2020
I decided to turn "Cuties" on a little bit ago, to see what the movie was about. After 15 to 20 minutes, I had to turn it off. It was uncomfortable watching little girls who are supposed to be 11 years old twerking and humping the ground. They were focused on wearing mini skirts, crop tops and even sneaking in to get a picture of a young boy's "junk."
This movie is definitely not "art" or "commentary." This movie is glamorizing child pornography. It's sexualizing young girls. It perpetuates the idea that women have to be sexualized in order to be valued. Consider Democrats are supposedly the "party of women," you would think they would be quick to speak out against this monstrosity. Of course, they're silent.
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