Senator Hawley Calls on Netflix to Take Down Cuties

On September 11, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings calling for the removal from the platform of Cuties, a controversial new film that depicts preteens engaged in sexually explicit dance routines. In the letter, Senator Hawley asked why Netflix chose to market the film with a poster solely depicting scantily clad preteens in sexual positions, and whether Netflix took any measures to protect the child actors made to perform simulated sex acts, and exactly what audience Netflix is attempting to target with this movie.

Senator Hawley writes, “In early 2019, journalists first began to report that YouTube videos of children in partial states of exposure were being ‘inundated with comments’ by pedophiles, exposing the children involved in the videos and other children visiting the platform to potential harm. Now Netflix is airing a film called Cuties depicting children being coached to engage in simulated sexual acts, for cameras both onscreen and off. Your decision to do so raises major questions of child safety and exploitation, including the possibility of copycat behavior and exploitation of child actors.”