Chloe Grace Moretz says she’s “just as appalled and angry as everyone else” over a poster for her animated movie accused of promoting a body-shaming message.
“I have now fully reviewed the mkting for Red Shoes, I am just as appalled and angry as everyone else, this wasn’t approved by me or my team,” Moretz wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “Pls know I have let the producers of the film know. I lent my voice to a beautiful script that I hope you will all see in its entirety.”
She added, “The actual story is powerful for young women and resonated with me. I am sorry for the offense that was beyond my creative control.”
The billboard for the movie “The Red Shoes and The Seven Dwarfs” features a tall, skinny, wide-eyed girl wearing red high heels looking down at a shorter, heavier girl holding the shoes. Backlash heated up during the Cannes Film Festival after plus-sized model Tess Holliday tweeted a photo of the billboard, which featured the tagline: “What if Snow White was no longer beautiful and the 7 Dwarfs not so short?”
How did this get approved by an entire marketing team? Why is it okay to tell young kids being fat = ugly? ??@ChloeGMoretz pic.twitter.com/PVhgwluGTM
— Tess H?lliday (@Tess_Holliday) May 30, 2017
The film’s production studio, Locus, told TheWrap it has since scrapped the campaign. Producer Sue Hwang told TheWrap, “Locus Corporation wishes to apologize regarding the first elements of our marketing campaign (in the form of a Cannes billboard and a trailer) which we realize has had the opposite effect from that which was intended. That advertising campaign is being terminated. Our film, a family comedy, carries a message designed to challenge social prejudices related to standards of physical beauty in society by emphasizing the importance of inner beauty. We appreciate and are grateful for the constructive criticism of those who brought this to our attention. We sincerely regret any embarrassment or dissatisfaction this mistaken advertising has caused.”
Criticism of the film featuring Moretz came after Jessica Chastain made headlines when she called the representation of women at Cannes “disturbing” (though Chastain made no direct reference to the Snow White-themed animated feature).
The film, a take on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” directed by Sung Ho Hong, is about a girl who tries to fit in with everyone else by putting on shoes that disguise her to be tall and thin, when she is naturally shorter and heavier.
See Moretz’s tweets below.
I have now fully reviewed the mkting for Red Shoes, I am just as appalled and angry as everyone else, this wasn't approved by me or my team
— Chloë Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) May 31, 2017
Pls know I have let the producers of the film know. I lent my voice to a beautiful script that I hope you will all see in its entirety https://t.co/IOIXYZTc3g
— Chloë Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) May 31, 2017
The actual story is powerful for young women and resonated with me. I am sorry for the offense that was beyond my creative control https://t.co/HZP2ydPCAX
— Chloë Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) May 31, 2017