Texas grand jury indicts Netflix for allegedly promoting lewd material over the film 'Cuties'

 

 A grand jury in Texas has indicted Netflix over the French film "Cuties," which has become the target of intense online criticism since it began streaming on the platform in September.
A Tyler County grand jury on Tuesday charged the streaming platform for the "promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child," accusing the film of appealing "to the prurient interest in sex" and saying it has "no literary, artistic, political, or scientific value," according to a copy of the indictment obtained by CNN.

Lucas Babin, a criminal district attorney in Tyler County, said in a statement, "the legislators of this state believe promoting certain lewd material of children has destructive consequences. If such material is distributed on a grand scale, isn't the need to prosecute more, not less? A grand jury in Tyler county found probable cause for this felony, and my job is to uphold the laws of this State and see that justice is done."
Netflix denounced the assertions in the indictment.
"Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children," a spokesperson for Netflix said in a statement to CNN. "This charge is without merit and we stand by the film."
Also known by its original French title "Mignonnes," the movie tells the story of 11-year-old Amy as she starts to rebel against the norms of her conservative Senegalese, Muslim family and becomes fascinated by a classmate who leads a dance crew that performs suggestive moves in revealing outfits.
The film wrestles with challenging themes, including the ways in which internet images affect girls' notions about their bodies and sexuality from a young age.
In a statement to Variety last month, a Netflix spokesperson called the movie a "powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up" and encouraged people who felt strongly about those issues to watch it.