Following an outcry on social media, including that of actress Rose McGowan, Twentieth Century Fox on Friday apologized for promotional materials for “X-Men: Apocalypse” which some complained condoned violence against women.
“In our enthusiasm to show the villainy of the character Apocalypse we didn’t immediately recognize the upsetting connotation of this image in print form,” Entertainment Weekly magazine quoted a statement by the studio. “Once we realized how insensitive it was, we quickly took steps to remove those materials. We apologize for our actions and would never condone violence against women.”
The photo in question depicting the movie’s villain Apocalypse choking Mystique, a female mutant played by Jennifer Lawrence.
“There is a major problem when the men and women at Twentieth Century Fox think casual violence against women is the way to market a film,” Ms. McGowan complained earlier in the week to The Hollywood Reporter. “There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled. The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid.”
Ms. McGowan’s initial reaction to the billboard on Facebook was decidedly more colorfully worded. “F—k that s—t,” she wrote in a May 26 post.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.