You've probably seen that Zac Efron is starring in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, a film based on the life of serial killer Ted Bundy and his relationship with then-wife Carole Ann Boone.
Bundy was convicted of killing more than 30 women before being executed in 1989:
On this date January 24 in 1989, Ted Bundy was executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison. Photo by Donn Dughi.
In the trailer, Efron portrays Bundy as charismatic and charming, which Bundy was famous for.
You can watch here, if you haven't already:
View this video on YouTube
Many people called out Efron and the trailer, saying it romanticized Bundy, who raped and killed more than 30 women. A lot of the tweets went viral:
I feel so bad for the families of the victims that have to sit there and see their terrors revived as a witty romantic thriller https://t.co/uP4y03XSBU
Truly amazing how white male serial killers are romanticized. For a second, you'd think that Ted Bundy is some fictional charter that some author created in his writing room.... not an actual man who lived and who violently MURDERED and ra*ed 30 women less than 40-years ago. https://t.co/UOtoSMPe3E
Imagine being the mother, father, brother, sister, etc. to one of those women who was violently taken from this world by this devil. And instead of their memory being respected, having people going to see their killer romanticized and their death reenacted for entertainment.
with the ted bundy netflix series + with the zac efron bundy movie dropping later this year this is ur friendly reminder that any sexualization/romanticization/glorification/general hybristophile nonsense will not!! be!! tolerated!!! it’s 2019 get a fucking hobby u monsters
Some noted that the music made it seem like a fun, lighthearted action movie:
ted bundy: I raped and murdered 80-90 women trailer for ted bundy movie: 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎🚬🚬🚬🚬🚬🚬
So I don’t have a problem with the Zac Efron attractiveness as Ted Bundy, since he was known for his looks & charm. But what’s with the rock-themed upbeat trailer music & cut? I pictured it as a dark biography, not a LOLz oh this guy movie. #ExtremelyWickedShockinglyEvilAndVile
Others defended the film and trailer:
i hope people know this movie isnt glamorizing/romanticizing ted bundy. this film is through the eyes of his girlfriend, liz kloepfer, who refused to believe he was anything but a good guy & that he never did anything wrong. thats why the trailer seems the way it does. https://t.co/yeX82ShhLp
They said he was charming in real life.
Y’all blowing tf out me with the Ted Bundy shit bruh.... the movie not romanticizing him, he was ROMANTICIZED in real life!!!!!! The movie just showing how he was able to use his “handsomeness” to evade being caught I honestly don’t see anything wrong and I’m going see the movie
Psst, hey woke twitter, in real life Ted Bundy was romanticized by the media and everyone he knew. That's what the Extremely Wicked trailer is reflecting and what the movie will attack head on.
People are getting so but hurt over the fact that the Ted Bundy movie is “romanticizing a serial killer” when THAT’S LITERALLY HOW HE WAS DEPICTED BACK THEN!!!! They ROMANTICIZED HIS ASS. Hell, did y’all even LOOK at the Ted Bundy tapes on Netflix? Y’all dumb as hell.
Zac Efron has not responded or tweeted about the situation. He's only shared the trailer, which you watch here:
It’s here! First Teaser Trailer for #ExtremelyWickedShockinglyEvilAndVile