The National Center on Sexual Exploitation said in a new statement that the indictment of Netflix over the film “Cuties” has “legal merit” that could impact laws moving forward.
What’s going on?
Earlier this week, A grand jury filed an indictment against Netflix for lewd visual material depicting a child in the Netflix film “Cuties,” a controversial film that has made headlines for the way it depicts children, according to NBC News.
- The indictment, which was filed in Texas, said “Cuties” is a film that “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” for the “prurient interest in sex.”
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The National Center on Sexual Exploitation said in a statement emailed to the Deseret News that the legal case against the film has merit.
- “It is time for Netflix to be held to account for providing a platform for the sexually-exploitative content of girls in ‘Cuties.’ We are grateful to the grand jury in Texas for taking this step. We believe there is legal merit for this case,” said Benjamin Bull, general counsel for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. ”The grand jury found that the film ‘Cuties’ amounted to nothing more than child porn. The law doesn’t allow double standards. If Netflix gets away with this, the next exploitation film will only push boundaries well beyond the breaking point.”
Lina Nealon, director of corporate and strategic initiatives for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, previously said “Cuties” does not educate the public as well.
- “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. And to showcase sexual exploitation of children in a film while saying that this is a ‘powerful story,’ as Netflix has said, is nothing short of corporate malfeasance.”
The Parents Television Council said in a statement to the Deseret News on Wednesday that the Texas jury should be commended for issuing an indictment on Netflix.
- “We applaud the bold action to investigate Netflix for its sexualized depiction of 11-year-old girls in the film ‘Cuties.’ The admirable intention of the film to raise awareness of the pressure girls have in today’s sexualized culture is entirely obviated by the sexualization and exploitation depicted in the film. ‘Cuties’ is only the latest example of a host of programs that should be scrutinized because they sexually exploit children. It is time for Netflix to be held to account for enabling these kinds of programs to exist on its platform,” said PTC President Tim Winter.