The streaming giant Netflix has been forced to apologize after using "inappropriate" artwork for the French movie Cuties that many users believed "sexualized young girls".

For those unaware, Cuties is a French-language movie that is slated to drop on Netflix in the US in September.

Written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, the movie tells the story of Amy, an 11-year-old Senegalese immigrant who becomes fascinated with a "twerking" hip-hop dance crew. Yearning to join them, Amy knows she must embark on a journey that will see her defy all her family traditions, explore her femininity, and find herself.

The trailer for the movie can be seen below:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/gaFTErZY-Q0L14jDU.mp4||gaFTErZY]]

However, despite receiving positive reviews at the Sundance movie festival earlier this year - winning Doucouré the Jury Award for Directing (World Cinema Dramatic) - the film is already under attack from English audiences.

Why? Because of the way Netflix has packaged the movie for US audiences, including a movie poster that many argued "sexualized" the film's young cast.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/littlewarior9/status/1296188537084182533]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/safoster83/status/1296710244777766912]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Scott85475375/status/1296697199032705024]]

In fact, it is worth pointing out that the poster used to advertise the movie to the US audience is drastically different from the one used for international audiences (below):

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/melngai416/status/1296714518307860480]]

Amid the backlash, several Change.org petitions have even been set up to have the movie removed from the streaming service due to the fact "it promotes and normalizes the sexualization of children". One petition has even reached 251,345 signatures (as of this writing).

[[imagecaption|| The current Like/Dislike audience rating for the movie's trailer on YouTube. Credit: YouTube]]

In response to the criticism, Netflix has issued the following apology:

"We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1296486375211053057]]

Yes, it seems Netflix is standing by its guns and refusing to remove the movie, despite the hundreds of thousands of people who have signed the petition, with the updated plot synopsis reading:

"Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family's traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew."

Then again, maybe we should actually see the movie before jumping to conclusions?

Netflix issues apology for 'inappropriate' artwork used for French movie 'Cuties'