Twentieth Century Fox has apologized for marketing images of “X-Men: Apocalypse” that feature Jennifer Lawrence‘s mutant character being choked by Oscar Isaac‘s villain.
The image, which ran as one-sheet and appeared in TV spots, drew criticism on social media and inspired a lengthy Facebook tirade from actress Rose McGowan. The overall argument being that the image has no context, and promotes random violence towards women.
“In our enthusiasm to show the villainy of the character Apocalypse [Isaac] we didn’t immediately recognize the upsetting connotation of this image in print form,” the studio said in a statement obtained by TheWrap.
“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.”
It’s hard to recognize either star in costume, though Lawrence’s famous face shines through the blue scales of Mystique, but fans and the general public could easily identify their discomfort in seeing the images.
This #XMenApocalypse billboard of Oscar Isaac choking Jennifer Lawrence is a pleasant backdrop for date night. pic.twitter.com/qeF9poDi4z
— Allan Shifman (@AllanShifman) May 26, 2016
I really hate that the marketing for X-Men: Apocalypse is focused entirely around that shot of Apocalypse choking Mystique.
— @alishagrauso.bsky.social (@AlishaGrauso) May 13, 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,” McGowan said in a heated interview with 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.”
As of June 1, the Bryan Singer film has grossed $90 million domestic, with a worldwide total of $281 million.
“X-Men: Apocalypse” stars Lawrence, Issac, Olivia Munn, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Tye Sheridan and Evan Peters.