Netflix Series 'Baby' Slammed by Anti-Sexual Exploitation Group: 'Promotes Sex Trafficking'

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation has called out Netflix for its upcoming series “Baby,” saying that the Italian show “promotes sex trafficking.”

Dawn Hawkins, executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, says the streaming giant’s executives “have gone completely tone-deaf” and that “Netflix is prioritizing profits over victims of abuse.”

“Despite being at ground zero of the #MeToo movement, Netflix appears to have gone completely tone-deaf on the realities of sexual exploitation,” Hawkins said Thursday in a press release. “Despite the outcry from survivors of sex trafficking, subject matter experts, and social service providers, Netflix promotes sex trafficking by insisting on streaming ‘Baby.’ Clearly, Netflix is prioritizing profits over victims of abuse.”

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The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) said it sent a letter to Netflix in January that was co-signed by dozens of sex trafficking survivors. The correspondence expressed “their deep concern” over the forthcoming drama.

“Erik Barmack, VP of International Originals at Netflix, has previously described the new show as ‘edgy.’ There is absolutely nothing ‘edgy’ about the sexual exploitation of minors,” Hawkins continued in her statement. “This show glamorizes sexual abuse and trivializes the experience of countless underage women and men who have suffered through sex trafficking.”

Netflix did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on this story.

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Here is Netflix’s official logline for “Baby”:

“Baby” is a coming-of-age story that explores the unseen lives of Roman high schoolers. Loosely inspired by a true story, the series follows a group of Parioli teenagers as they defy society in their search for identity and independence against the backdrop of forbidden love, family pressures, and shared secrets.

NCOSE has its own description:

Based loosely on the account of the “Baby Squillo scandal,” the show portrays a group of teenagers entering into prostitution as a glamorized “coming-of-age” story.

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“Under international and U.S. federal law, anyone engaged in commercial sex who is under 18 years old is by definition a sex trafficking victim,” the group continued. “In the real-life scandal that ‘Baby’ is based on, the mother of one of the teenagers was arrested for sex trafficking.”

The show’s six episodes are scheduled to premiere on Friday.

Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation is the leading national organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health crisis of pornography, according to the group’s mission statement.

Netflix in December: What's Coming and Going That You Should Really, Really Watch (Photos)

With dozens of new titles hitting Netflix each month, it can be difficult to keep track of what to watch. So TheWrap has compiled a list, updated each month, of the best new shows and movies to check out and which to watch before they're gone for good.
Leaving Dec. 1: "Sons of Anarchy" Season 1-7 The hit FX drama from creator Kurt Sutter, which was later spun off into the currently airing "Mayans M.C.," stars Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller, the leader of a outlaw motorcycle club in Central California.
FX
Arriving Dec. 2: "The Lobster" An absurdist comedy co-written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, whose latest film "The Favourite" hit theaters in November, "The Lobster" stars Colin Farrell as a man seeking a partner in a world where single people are transformed into animals.
A24
Arriving Dec. 7: "Dumplin" Danielle Macdonald stars as Dumplin', the plus-size, teenage daughter of a former beauty queen (Jennifer Aniston), who signs up for her mom's pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow in her footsteps, revolutionizing the pageant and their small Texas town.
Netflix
Leaving Dec. 10: "Battle Royale" A stealth romance disguised as a bloody teen slasher, the Japanese modern classic "Battle Royale" centers on a group of high schoolers who are sent to an isolated island where they're forced to compete in a "Hunger Games"-style fight to the death.
Toei Company
Leaving Dec. 12: "Trolls" DreamWorks Animation's 2016 film, based on the elaborately coiffed dolls popular in the '90s, stars Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake as a pair of trolls who embark on a mission to rescue their village from a troll-eating monster.
DreamWorks Animation
Arriving Dec. 14: "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter's Tale" A holiday-themed episode of the Netflix original series, "A Midwinter's Tale" picks up as the winter solstice approaches, as Sabrina orchestrates an emotional séance with serious consequences and Susie's merry plans turn menacing.
Netflix
Arriving Dec. 14: "Roma" Alfonso Cuarón's latest Oscar contender chronicles a tumultuous year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
Netflix
Leaving Dec. 15: "Step Up 2: The Streets" The second installment in "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon M. Chu's dance movie franchise, "Step Up 2: The Streets" stars Briana Evigan as a street dancer who finds herself caught between two worlds when she's recruited to a prestigious dance school.
Touchstone
Arriving Dec. 16: "Springsteen on Broadway" A filmed version of the stage show based on his best-selling autobiography, Bruce Springsteen performs acoustic versions of his music and shares personal stories.
Netflix
Arriving Dec. 18: "Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable" Filmed at Seattle's Benaroya Hall, Ellen DeGeneres makes her return to stand-up after a 15-year hiatus for a new Netflix special.
Netflix
Arriving Dec. 18: "Terrace House: Opening New Doors" Part 5 In the latest batch of episodes from Japan's gentlest reality show, Takayuki and Aya keep going on dates, but Takayuki's heart may be set on someone else, and new member Shunsuke begins a journey of self-discovery.
Netflix
Leaving Dec. 20: "Moana" Featuring songs by "Hamilton's" Lin-Manuel Miranda, Disney's "Moana" centers on the strong-willed daughter, straining at the confines of her Polynesian island, who is tasked with tracking down the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to save her home.
Disney
Arriving Dec. 21: "Bird Box" Set five years after a wave of mass suicides decimates the population, "Bird Box" stars Sandra Bullock as a mother of two children who embarks on a desperate, dangerous quest for sanctuary.
Netflix
Arriving Dec. 24: "The Magicians" Season 3 Syfy's zany adaptation of the popular series of Lev Grossman novels centers on a group of students at a secret university for magicians as they grapple with everything from bad hookups to murderous trickster gods to fairies who try to take over the world.
Syfy
Arriving Dec. 25: "Avengers: Infinity War" The first part in Marvel's decade-in-the-making superhero team-up unites nearly every hero from the franchise's 20 films in a showdown against the world-destroying villain Thanos and features one of the biggest cliffhangers in cinematic history.
Marvel
Arriving Dec. 31: "The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From a Mythical Man" Tommy Avallone's 2018 documentary investigates the mythical encounters everyday people have had with Bill Murray, from photobombed wedding photos to crashed house parties.
Getty Images

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TheWrap has compiled the highlights — before it’s too late

With dozens of new titles hitting Netflix each month, it can be difficult to keep track of what to watch. So TheWrap has compiled a list, updated each month, of the best new shows and movies to check out and which to watch before they're gone for good.

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Netflix in December: What's Coming and Going That You Should Really, Really Watch (Photos)

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