A Texas grand jury has indicted streaming giant Netflix on child pornography charges.
The indictment accuses Netflix and its top executives of “promotion of lewd visual material depicting [a] child” with regard to the controversial French film “Cuties.”
State Rep. Matt Schaefer, Tyler Republican, posted a copy of the first page of the Tyler County grand jury’s finding on his Twitter page.
Netflix, Inc. indicted by grand jury in Tyler Co., Tx for promoting material in Cuties film which depicts lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 yrs of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex #Cuties #txlege pic.twitter.com/UJ1hY8XJ2l
— Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) October 6, 2020
According to the indictment, which was handed down Sept. 23 but only revealed Tuesday, Netflix did “knowingly promote visual material which depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 years of age at the time.”
SEE ALSO: Ted Sarandos, Netflix Co-CEO, defends ‘Cuties’ as ‘misunderstood’
The indictment goes on to note, relevant to the legal definitions of pornography, that the visual material in “Cuties” appeals to the prurient interest in sex, and has no serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
“Cuties,” which won a prize at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in February, was put online to stream into America’s homes by Netflix on Sept. 9.
The French movie, which was called “Mignonnes” in its native land, depicts a “Mean Girls”-type clique of 11-year-olds, one of the activities of which is a dance troupe.
The climactic scene is a contest for which the protagonist, a Senegalese immigrant, devises a routine that includes group twerks, mouth gestures, ground humping and hip grinding. Other scenes show them rehearsing the numbers and other sexualized moves that the girls are sometimes depicted as only half-understanding.
Netflix told the New York Post in a Tuesday statement that it stood by the film.
“‘Cuties’ is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. This charge is without merit and we stand by the film,” Netflix said.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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