Netflix CEO Appeared On CNN For 10 Minutes, Was Not Asked A Single Question About ‘Cuties’ Controversy

On Thursday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings appeared on CNN for a full ten minutes and was not asked a single question about the controversy surrounding the streaming platform’s new movie “Cuties,” which features 11-year-old girls dancing sexually. Critics of the film have alleged it legitimizes pedophilia.

According to Newsbusters, Poppy Harlow of “CNN Newsroom” asked Hastings a multitude of questions while praising Netflix for its diversity initiatives; absent throughout the whole interview was a single question about “Cuties,” which has rocked the internet—both Left and Right.

“Instead, CNN Newsroom co-anchor Poppy Harlow gave Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings an almost entirely softball interview,” reported Newsbusters. “She even found time to praise the company for being ahead of its competitors in ‘diversity’ programming and leadership.”

Netflix found itself at the center of controversy last month when it released a poster for the movie “Cuties” that featured pre-teen girls in sexually suggestive poses. The company apologized after severe online backlash. “We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for ‘Cuties.’ It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which premiered at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description,” Netflix said in a statement.

“Cuties” tells the story of 11-year-old Amy who joins a dance group called “The Cuties” at school with her friends. The film holds an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes and won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award at Sundance this year. Defenders of the film say that Netflix dramatically misrepresented the story’s content with its poster, noting that the original French advertisements were tame by comparison. However, upon the movie’s release on Wednesday, the hashtag #CancelNetflix quickly began trending when clips of the movie revealed that the poster indeed reflected the movie’s content: pre-teen girls dancing sexually.

“Do you know how sets work? I do. I’ve directed some of the biggest stars in the world. A director on the Cuties set and a choreographer told 11 year olds to simulate sexual moves repeatedly. What they did should have them charged and registered as sex offenders,” tweeted Robby Starbuck.

“Just got off the phone with @netflix customer service. They said that as of this time, they have no plans to remove the pedo film ‘cuties’ from their platform. Keep fighting until they pull it down. They won’t do it unless it starts affecting their bottom line,” tweeted Logan Hall.

As Newsbusters noted, not once was Reed Hastings asked his opinion about the fiery anger that “Cuties” has sparked on social media. 

“Clearly doing damage control for Netflix, Harlow wouldn’t ask about the #CancelNetflix boycott or the growing outrage,” continued Newsbusters. “Hastings was out with a new book on Netflix’s corporate culture and Harlow dutifully stayed on-topic asking him questions about the Netflix workplace and how he runs the company. The only semi-critical question she asked was the last one of the interview. Harlow gently asked if he would ‘still stand by’ his decision to kowtow to Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by pulling an episode of a show that blamed him for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”