Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has hit back at comments made by fellow filmmaker James Cameron this week, in which he claimed the extensive praise for the film was "misguided" and that the way it was handled was actually "a step backwards".
On Thursday, an interview with the Titanic director was published by The Guardian.
In it he discussed the success of Wonder Woman, and also made comparisons with one of his own strong female characters – Sarah Connor in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day. He said:
All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!
The quotes were immediately met with mixed reactions online.
I love James Cameron. I think he has the Midas Touch when it comes to filmmaking. But his take on Wonder Woman is dead wrong.
James Cameron, who turned the story of the Titanic into a chance to get Kate Winslet nude, complains about… https://t.co/wOEX7VyuR8
Twitter when James Cameron comes for Wonder Woman.
I think Mr. James Cameron should take a step backwards! In the hands of @PattyJenks & @galgadot, #WonderWoman was a… https://t.co/3U38gLZSa7
*reads only the headline* *lights torches* "JAMES CAMERON IS THE ENEMY" *reads actual quote* "Oh I disagree, but I… https://t.co/dSdQmyIkO2
And now Patty Jenkins has responded to his comments herself. She shared this tweet and pointed out firstly that James Cameron "is not a woman".
And she also asked this question: "If women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we?" Here's her statement in full:
James Cameron's inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman. Strong women are great. His praise of my film Monster, and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated. But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we. I believe that women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male characters should be. There is no right or wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely judge their own icons of progress.