Why did Netflix take down posters of upcoming French movie ‘Cuties’?

US streaming service Netflix has apologized for the promotional campaign around its upcoming original film Cuties after strong backlash against its poster

Cuties, originally titled Mignonnes, is a French teen coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Maimouna Doucoure. The film is about a traditional Senegalese Muslim girl who is caught between traditional family values and the escape provided by dance and the rising Internet culture.

Netflix received backlash over the film after it debuted the poster on August 18 as many believed that movie sexualized children. Netflix’s poster for “Cuties” featured the young girls that appear in the film striking suggestive dance poses such as twerking while dressed in tight and revealing group outfits.

It led to a Change.org petition urging Netflix to remove the title from its upcoming movie. The petition reads, “This movie is disgusting as it sexualizes an 11 year old for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles and also negatively influences our children. There is no need for this kind of content in that age group, especially when sex trafficking and pedophilia are so rampant! There is no excuse, this is dangerous content.”

It alleged that the Maimouna Doucoue directorial film made use of  “inappropriate artwork” following which the streaming platform issued a statement saying, “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”