X-Men: Apocalypse Billboards Removed Over Domestic Violence Accusations

X-Men: Apocalypse Billboards Removed Over Domestic Violence Accusations
ERIN MARY Doyle
By ERIN MARY Doyle



The studio behind the ninth installment of the X-Men series, X-Men: Apocalypse, 20th Century Fox has issued an apology over complaints that the main billboard image promoting the film is a scene where Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse character is strangling Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique, with a caption that “Only The Strong Will Survive”.

One of the most vocal critics is director/actor Rose McGowan who told The Hollywood Reporter: “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. There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled. The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid.”

In the same article, writer and editor Jay Edidin, one half of the podcast Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men said: “Offensive isn’t always necessarily bad, but this is offensive in ways that serve absolutely no purpose, and while it does depict a scene from the actual film, it’s also a terrible representation of the movie as a whole.”

Twitter has also rallied against the billboard:

In response to the controversy, 20th Century Fox released a statement: “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.”




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