Netflix has been indicted in the U.S. on charges that the film Cuties sexualises children. The indictment follows the mass backlash to the film over certain scenes where young girls dance provocatively.
A grand jury in Tyler County, Texas, is charging Netflix with “Promotion Of Lewd Visual Material Depicting A Child,” a criminal act in Texas that was introduced into state law in 2018, Reuters reported.
The charge alleges that Cuties “depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the visual material was created,” according to the indictment filing.
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
The filing also states that said content “appeals to the prurient interest in sex, and has no serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Cuties screened at the Sundance Film Festival where it scored director and writer Maïmouna Doucouré the Sundance’s Global Filmmaking Award in 2017.
Netflix was served a summons on October 1st, with co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos individually named.
A spokesperson for Netflix has told The Verge that the company rejects the justification for the charges, and that Cuties “is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children.”
Netflix, Inc. indicted by grand jury in Tyler Co., Tx for promoting material in Cuties film which depicts lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 yrs of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex #Cuties #txlege pic.twitter.com/UJ1hY8XJ2l
— Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) October 6, 2020
Texas-based defense attorney Paul Saputo said the charge over Cuties is one of “the dumbest and most absurd” in the state.
“It’s absurd — the prosecutor believes he knows more about art than a Sundance jury,” Saputo said.
The publication adds that Texas’ law specifically states that content cannot contain any “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Saputo believes that the charge carries grave consequences as it implies that if Netflix is guilty of promoting material with child pornography through Cuties, it can therefore be argued that subscribers are guilty of possessing and containing said child porn.
“This entire scenario is laughable,” Saputo said.
More than 90,000 people have signed a petition demanding Netflix can the film’s release. Cuties follows Amy, a young girl who becomes “fascinated with a twerking dance crew”, and in the hopes of joining them, starts to “explore her femininity”.
