Not holding back one bit. Rose McGowan spoke out against a new X-Men: Apocalypse advertisement — featuring Oscar Isaac (Apocalypse) choking Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) — in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published on Friday, June 3.
McGowan, 42, who first expressed her disappointment in the image via Facebook on May 25, further explained why J.Law, 25, being held in the grip of a man’s hands disturbed her.
"There is a major problem when the men and women at 20th Century Fox think casual violence against women is the way to market a film,” the Charmed alum told THR. “There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled. The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid.”
Rose McGowan calls out the ‘X-Men’ billboard that shows Jennifer Lawrence being strangled https://t.co/lmh73vjAxn pic.twitter.com/HeHqDzWozL
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 2, 2016
The actress — who proudly identifies as a feminist — went on to slam the film’s production company, 20th Century Fox, for being blind to the double standard she feels the poster perpetuates.
“The geniuses behind this, and I use that term lightly, need to take a long hard look at the mirror and see how they are contributing to society,” she continued. “Imagine if it were a black man being strangled by a white man, or a gay male being strangled by a hetero? The outcry would be enormous. So let’s right this wrong. 20th Century Fox, since you can’t manage to put any women directors on your slate for the next two years, how about you at least replace your ad?"
Finally, McGowan drove her point home by sharing a personal anecdote about a friend who talked with his daughter about the poster. "Her words: 'Dad, why is that monster man committing violence against a woman?' This from a 9-year-old," McGowan told THR. "If she can see it, why can’t Fox?"
In a statement to THR, Fox apologized for the billboard: "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. 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."
