Rose McGowan Says 'X-Men' Ad Featuring Jennifer Lawrence Being Strangled Is Violence Against Women
Well, she ain't wrong.
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Marie Claire Daily
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.
Sent weekly on Saturday
Marie Claire Self Checkout
Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.
Once a week
Maire Claire Face Forward
Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.
Once a week
Livingetc
Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.
Delivered Daily
Homes & Gardens
The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.
X-Men: Apocalypse is in theaters, which is totally YAY! because everything Jennifer Lawrence touches is golden, and also YAY! because mutants are cool. But the film's ad campaign, while a valiant attempt, is best described as 😬 .
The movie poster shows Apocalypse strangling Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique, which, to be fair, is apparently something that happens in the film. But as Rose McGowan points out, without any context, we're just seeing a man strangling a woman as an ad campaign. It's iffy, weird, and NAGL (not a good look).
I know it's a movie scene, but they're also putting it on ads. 😕 pic.twitter.com/conG7YkhNtMay 11, 2016
"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," Rose tells The Hollywood Reporter. "There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled. The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid. The geniuses behind this, and I use that term lightly, need to to take a long hard look at the mirror and see how they are contributing to society. 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?"
Pretty powerful point of view, but McGowan's closing statements are particularly thought-provoking:
"I'll close with a text my friend sent, a conversation with his daughter," she said. "It follows: 'My daughter and I were just having a deep discussion on the brutality of that hideous X-Men poster yesterday. Her words: 'Dad, why is that monster man committing violence against a woman?' This from a 9-year-old. If she can see it, why can't Fox?"
Not to take sides, but dear god, people who run the X-Men ad campaign, look at your life, look at your choices!
Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.
Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm. She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.