There’s a petition to get Netflix to stop streaming this new movie immediately

Have you watched it?

A petition has started to get one of Netflix’s latest releases removed from the site after people called it “problematic”. Sierra Burgess Is A Loser was released on Netflix last week and now Care2 have set up a petition for the service to stop streaming it immediately because of “offensive jokes, slut-shaming and non-consensual kissing”. The film tells the story of Sierra Burgess who receives a text from the high-school heartthrob, however, he thinks she is someone else. Care2 say in their petition that, “viewers are taken for a ride that includes transphobic jokes, mockery of deaf people, non-consensual kissing, slut-shaming and an ending that makes it seem like the whole charade was totally fine”. The petition echoes some of the concerns from film critics who pointed out issues of transphobia, homophobia and slut-shaming in the movie.

“We can’t allow this train wreck of a movie to go on,” Care2 says. “Companies like Netflix cannot keep perpetuating problematic notions like these. "This movie is not only bad, it’s extremely offensive.”

Care2 have set a goal of 10,000 signatures and with the petition having just gone live, they have nearly 1,000 signatures already. This petition comes after Netflix also received backlash for their show Insatiable which many said encouraged fat-shaming. Shannon Purser who plays the main character in the film has defended the movie after the recent backlash, saying:

“My view of the movie is that it’s not just this fluffy piece – it’s a commentary on how we interact on social media," she told Elle. “You know, the pressure that society puts on young women to compete with one another and to conform to fit this very specific image.”