Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Calls For Criminal Investigation Into Netflix Film 'Cuties'
WASHINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has asked the Justice Department to look into whether Netflix and the makers of the film "Cuties" violated federal laws against child pornography.
Cruz sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, calling for a criminal investigation of the film. He accuses the film of sexualizing pre-adolescent girls.
The French film was released in the U.S. on Netflix earlier this week. A description for the film on the streaming service reads: "Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family's traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew."
In his letter, Cruz said:
"The film routinely fetishizes and sexualizes these pre-adolescent girls as they perform dances simulating sexual conduct in revealing clothing, including at least one scene with partial child nudity. These scenes in and of themselves are harmful. And it is likely that the filming of this movie created even more explicit and abusive scenes, and that pedophiles across the world in the future will manipulate and imitate this film in abusive ways."
The senator concludes the letter by saying:
"I urge the Department to investigate the production of 'Cuties' and Netflix's distribution of the film in order to determine whether Netflix, any of its executives, or anyone involved with the making of 'Cuties' violated any federal laws against the production and distribution of child pornography."
State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Texas) tweeted earlier this week that he asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to also investigate the film for "possible violations of child exploitation and child pornography laws."
Cruz's entire letter can be read here.
