A promotional poster for X-Men: Apocalypse has attracted controversy after it appeared to show Jennifer Lawrence being strangled by the film’s titular villain.
The poster shows Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique looking on helplessly as she is strangled by Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse, alongside the tagline, ‘Only the strong will survive.’
But the poster has now been criticised by fans, who say that it is unnecessarily violent – and seemingly promotes violence against women when it is removed from the context of the film.
Among those who spoke out was actress Rose McGowan, who described the poster as ‘offensive, and, frankly, stupid’.
She 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.”
She also said that the problem had been noticed by a friend’s young daughter, who asked her father: “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?”, Byrne added.
The poster received equal criticism from fans on Twitter, who slammed the apparent promotion of violence.
drove by an "X-men apocalypse" billboard. nothing better than a 30-foot-tall roadside photo of a woman being strangled
— ?????????? ???? (@brydonebrere) May 30, 2016
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
Exec #1: This is a great poster!
Exec #2: I agree! It's not problematic at all! pic.twitter.com/roRDiTIeml— Sasha James (@ThatSashaJames) May 24, 2016
I know it’s a movie scene, but they’re also putting it on ads.
The posters have been spotted in both Los Angeles and New York, but the extent to which it is being used in promotional material is currently unclear