Texas grand jury indicts Netflix on 'lewd exhibition' charges for 'Cuties' film

A Texas grand jury has indicted Netflix on charges of depicting a "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," according to Texas Rep. Matt Schaefer.

The French film by a Senegalese filmmaker came under fire after it was released on Netflix because of its portrayal of young girls in sexually explicit scenarios. Critics lambasted the film as pedophiliac in nature, as it showed young girls dancing in extremely provocative ways.

While some said the film was producing and promoting child pornography, left-wingers justified the footage as a "thoughtful look at the intricacies of girlhood in the modern age" that "confronts its themes with poignancy nuance." Numerous conservative pundits and disgusted viewers fed up with the streaming platform took to Twitter to display a surge of Netflix subscription cancellations.

The hashtag #CancelNetflix had reached the top trending topic on Twitter in the United States. Several Change.org petitions have grown exponentially since launching with some started preemptively before the film's premiere. One fundraiser has reached over 650,000 signatories who halted their memberships in solidarity to prove to Netflix that "our children are more valuable than our entertainment, and our money is better spent else where!"

After days of prolonged silence following the initial backlash for the film's release, Netflix defended the movie. The Post Millennial had reached out for a responding statement at the time.

"We have no plans to remove the film at this time," a Netflix representative stated in a phone call, asserting that the marketing material was not reflective of the movie's message which purportedly is "commentary on the negative effects of the sexualization of young girls in the press and on social media."

"The artwork was not okay or representative of the French film," the spokesperson continued, referring to Netflix's apologetic removal of the original promotional poster that featured the promiscuous dance scene on stage.