Netflix tries to block child porn charges against controversial movie ‘Cuties’

Netflix has filed a complaint against a Texas district attorney who is arguing for child pornography charges against the 2020 movie “Cuties.”

The French movie premiered Sept. 9, 2020, on the service and depicts a preteen dance crew. But many felt that “Cuties” sexualized young girls, and 660,000 signed a Change.org petition calling for the movie to be removed, McClatchy News reported.

Among the people who argued against the movie was Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin, who filed an indictment against Netflix two weeks after its release on Netflix.

Babin sued Netflix for “promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child,” and the case has dragged out in court for more than a year. Babin argued the movie violated a Texas child pornography law.

As Netflix has attempted to get the indictment tossed out of state court in Texas, Babin filed new child porn indictments this week, a Netflix spokesperson told Deadline.

That led to Netflix filing a motion in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on Thursday, March 3, asking a judge to block the child porn charges it is facing.

Netflix acknowledged it is unusual to seek a federal court for such a motion, but the streaming service deemed it necessary given Babin’s continued aggression.

“Babin’s singular and bad-faith effort to pursue Netflix for exercising its free speech and petition rights under the First Amendment on trumped up charges that he cannot prove as a matter of law require extraordinary measures,” Netflix argued. “Without the court’s intervention, Netflix will suffer irreparable harm by being forced to continue playing Babin’s game in state court and defending itself against even more baseless charges.”

Netflix said Babin has been “abusing his office” as he “continues to indict Netflix without probable cause.” The streaming service also is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the district attorney, who it calls “the only prosecutor in America who seems to need that kind of constraint on his prosecutorial discretion.”

Babin has requested the court deny Netflix the claims “in their entirety.”

Babin’s father is U.S. Congressman Brian Babin, who in 2020 wrote in a joint letter with other Republican members of Congress asking then-Attorney General William Barr to bring federal charges against Netflix because of “Cuties.”

“Cuties’ defenders claim that the film intends to criticize the objectification of young girls,” the letter read. “The reality is that ‘Cuties’ does depict minors engaged in sexually explicit acts. It’s visual fodder for pedophiles and its message is beside the point.”

Netflix has not been federally charged.

The streaming service was criticized for its marketing of the movie, which depicted the preteen girls in scantily clad clothing. It later apologized for how it promoted “Cuties.”

“It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which premiered at Sundance,” Netflix said. “We’ve now updated the pictures and description.”