CNN host Brian Stelter blamed the timing of his interview as the reason he did not ask Netflix CEO Reed Hastings about the controversial French film Cuties.
Several reporters and pundits chastised the media correspondent on Sunday after the airing of his Reliable Sources interview with Hastings, which did not include any mention of the movie. The movie has been criticized for sexualizing young girls who perform in a dance troupe.
Stelter responded to a Washington Examiner reporter and others on Twitter to say the interview had been “taped several days ago.”
The interview was taped several days ago.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 13, 2020
During the interview, Stelter talked to Reed about his new book, noting how beneficial book tours can be for the press because it encourages authors to speak to journalists when they may otherwise not take interview opportunities.
“If it feels like we’re talking a lot about books this hour, well, there are a lot of great books out right now. And book tours are opportunities to interview people who are otherwise hard to get, like the Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings,” he said.
The Cuties controversy began in mid-August when an advertisement for the film featured a young girl in a suggestive position. Netflix apologized for the marketing of the film on Aug. 20.
“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,” the company tweeted at the time.
Stelter did not acknowledge the film during his show or in the interview, marking the second time since Thursday that CNN interviewed Reed and did not ask him about the controversy. Host Poppy Harlow aired a 10-minute interview with Reed that did not include the movie on the same day that #CancelNetflix was trending on Twitter.
Some have defended the film, and Cuties has received many positive reviews for its portrayal of femininity in modern society, but the movie has largely garnered headlines due to backlash in the United States.
“Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” Netflix said in a statement to Fox News. “It’s an award winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up — and we’d encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie.”
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton wrote a letter last week urging the Justice Department to take legal action against Netflix because of the film.
