Netflix has been dealing with controversy since acquiring the award-winning 2020 coming-of-age drama “Cuties.” Most of it is coming from Texas.

What You Need To Know

  • Netflix has asked a federal court to stop Tyler County, Texas, District Attorney Luca Babin’s indictments over the 2020 drama “Cuties”

  • The film, which won an award at Sundance, has created controversy since Netflix acquired it. Conservatives, including Babin, have likened it to child pornography

  • Netflix, which says Babin has indicted it five times over the film, in a complaint wrote that the film “contains nothing obscene, it contains no scenes of children engaged in ‘sexual conduct,’ it contains no ‘lewd depictions of minors’”

  • Netflix in 2020 acknowledged problems with the marketing of “Cuties.” It replaced a poster for it and issued a statement that reads, "This was not an accurate representation of the film so the image and description has been updated."

In a story originally reported by Deadline, the streaming service is now calling on a federal court to step in and stop what it regards as a child pornography legal crusade by Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin.

“Cuties” is the directorial debut by French-Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré. The plot concerns a French-Senegalese girl who struggles with the conflicting values of her Muslim upbringing and internet culture.

According to the filmmakers, the film, which won the Directing Award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, actually criticizes the sexualization of pre-adolescent girls. Adding to the controversy was Netflix’s marketing of the film, which included posters and trailers for the film that were criticized for allegedly sexualizing children. The Parent Television Council called on Netflix to remove the film entirely, and a petition on Change.org called for people to cancel their subscriptions to the streaming service.

In response, Netflix replaced the poster with a new one and issued the following statement:

“This was not an accurate representation of the film so the image and description has been updated.”

According to Netflix, Babin, a former actor and model who appeared in the 2003 film “School of Rock,” has indicted it five times over the film.

The complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Easter District of Texas, and in it Netflix claims Babin is “abusing his office and infringing Netflix, Inc.’s constitutional rights."

“Babin continues to indict Netflix without probable cause for the ‘promotion’ of the film Cuties: a coming-of-age tale and social commentary about the negative influence of social media and the hypersexualization of young girls,” the compliant reads. “As Babin is well-aware, Cuties violates no laws: it contains nothing obscene, it contains no scenes of children engaged in ‘sexual conduct,’ it contains no ‘lewd depictions of minors.’ Indeed, other prosecutors in Texas have not only refused to take up for his ill-advised indictment(s), they have also conceded that Cuties is not criminal but has ‘serious political, literary, and artistic value.’”

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Netflix is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief.

Lucas Babin is the son of U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, who referred to “Cuties” as pornography.

“After hearing about the movie ‘Cuties’ and watching it, I knew there was probable cause to believe it was criminal,” Lucas Babin said in a press release announcing a 2020 indictment. “If such material is distributed on a grand scale, isn’t the need to prosecute more, not less?”

Lucas Babin isn’t the only Texas to go after Netflix for “Cuties.” In September 2020, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called on the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the film.