Not Every Movie Is Made By Nice People – Here Are 11 Films That Were Lowkey Sabotaged By Their Controversial Makers

    Spare a thought for these poor movie's publicists.

    Sam Cleal
    by Sam Cleal

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Tomorrow, The Flash will land in cinemas despite ongoing backlash involving the film's main star, Ezra Miller. This isn't the first time a movie has come out during a period of time where one of its key actors or creatives has caused controversy.

    Miami Open

    Here are 11 films that were released during a time when the makers of the movie were being cancelled HARD.

    Content warning: this post discusses sexual assault and abuse, suicide, anti-LGBTQ commentary, and racially motivated violence.

    1. Death On The Nile – Armie Hammer

    20th Century Studios

    Before he was accused of predatory rape, assault, and emotional abuse, Armie's star was on the rise. Death on the Nile, the highly anticipated sequel to Murder on the Orient Express, was to be the latest feather in his cap. However, the film was soon dragged into a huge controversy when Armie was hit with multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse, and cannibalism.

    Michael Tran / FilmMagic / Via Getty Images

    Suddenly, he was missing from press events and junkets for the 2022 mystery movie, with publicists even commenting at the time that they had no idea how to promote the feature film. It would end up being his final film before the actor disappeared from the spotlight, having been dropped by multiple projects and his agency.

    2. Mulan – Liu Yifei

    Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

    Around the time of the movie's much anticipated release in 2020, the Chinese-born naturalised-American actor made comments in support of the brutal police crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. "I support the Hong Kong police; you can beat me up now", she wrote on Weibo, a social media platform similar to Twitter in China.

    Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic / Via Getty Images

    A call to boycott the movie began circulating on social media, with #BoycottMulan trending on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. In response to the backlash, Disney chief creative officer Alan Horn only had this to say to The Hollywood Reporter: "It's not hard to offend somebody somewhere". The movie was eventually released on Disney+, with many still calling for a boycott. It ultimately bombed, earning $70 million from its $200 million budget.

    3. The Passion of the Christ – Mel Gibson

    Newmarket Films

    Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism is well known lore at this point, despite the actor's protestations. Actor Winona Ryder has alleged in interviews that he made anti-Semitic remarks to her at a party in 1996, and several other reports of similar comments by Mel have materialised over the years. However, the chief reason for these accusations is probably his infamous 2004 biblical epic, The Passion of the Christ.

    Mike Marsland / WireImage / Via Getty Images

    Many deemed the film to be anti-Semitic before it was even released, with New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind leading a rally against it at the Fox News offices back in 2003. Consequently, 20th Century Fox dropped out of distributing the film. The film was certainly a charged and divisive hit, which went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film of 2004, internationally. However, many felt the movie "included many frankly anti-Semitic details missing from the Gospels", with Roger Ebert calling it, "the most violent film I have ever seen".

    4. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – J.K. Rowling

    Warner Bros. Pictures

    J.K. Rowling's stance on the transgender community has been well publicised over the last few years. The Harry Potter author has been steadfast about the "material difference" between trans women and women, and even created a cis male serial killer character in her book Troubled Blood who dresses as a woman in order to hunt and murder cis women. Resultantly, fans have turned away from J.K., who many deem a TERF — trans-exclusionary radical feminist.

    Bruce Glikas / FilmMagic / Via Getty Images

    This outcry seems to have taken its toll at the box office. The most recent Fantastic Beasts movie – released in 2022 – grossed only $407 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film in the Wizarding World franchise. Futhermore, it has since been reported that there will be no more instalments in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, despite fans initially being told that five films would be made.

    5. West Side Story – Ansel Elgort

    20th Century Studios

    One of the most exciting releases of 2021 was Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story, starring Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, and Rita Moreno. Unfortunately for musical fans, the movie was considerably marred by its association with Ansel Elgort. In 2020, the actor – who played the lead of Tony – was accused of sexual assault, which he vehemently denied. After that, several more women came forward to say they had received "predatory" messages from the actor.

    Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic / Via Getty Images

    He would go on to attend the New York premiere in November, appear on The Late Late Show, and take part in limited promotion for the film, but he did not appear at the 2022 Oscars. The film received a disappointing theatrical release, which some put down to a "challenging marketplace for both adult-driven releases and musicals".

    6. Cold Pursuit – Liam Neeson

    Lionsgate

    It was actually during the press tour for Cold Pursuit in 2019 that Liam Neeson made controversial comments about wanting to kill a Black man. The Irish actor told The Independent that after he found out a friend had been raped by a Black person, "I went up and down areas with a cosh... hoping some [uses air quotes with fingers] 'black bastard' would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him."

    Nathan Congleton / NBC / Via Getty Images

    The film was due to premiere in New York the day after the publication of the interview. Though the premiere went ahead, the red carpet component was suddenly cancelled with just two hours' notice due to backlash against Liam's comments. The film ultimately flopped, earning only $10.8 million in movie theatres for its opening weekend.

    7. Onward – Chris Pratt

    Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

    Chris Pratt's list of problematic statements and actions is long, and has earned him the honorary title of "Worst Chris" in Hollywood. From his strange Instagram posts about hunting, to his membership to Hillsong Church, a notoriously anti-LGBTQ organisation, Chris has managed to tick off a lot of ex-fans.

    Nathan Congleton / NBC / Via Getty Images

    All that meant that in 2020, people had had about enough of him. When he was cast in the Pixar movie Onward, fans just wondered... Why him? (and not Jack Black). To make matters worse, Chris was met with more backlash when he joked with his followers that they should vote for Onward, given it was an election year in the US: "With all that's going on in the world, it is more important than ever that you vote... I will tell you EXACTLY who to vote for. #Onward".

    8. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Letitia Wright

    Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

    Before the highly anticipated sequel was released last year, the question on everyone's lips was, 'who will be the next Black Panther?' Following the death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, fans were curious as to who would fill the titular character's shoes, but one thing seemed certain: it wouldn't be Letitia given her so-called anti-vaxxer stance.

    Jeff Spicer / Via Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal

    Low and behold, the MCU passed the suit to Shuri (Letitia's character), despite the actor sharing her anti-vaccine position on social media back in 2020, and allegedly espousing similar views about the COVID-19 vaccines on the set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The film wound up making a profit of $259 million and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2022. Letitia has since apologised for her social media post and has denied airing anti-vaccine views on set.

    9. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Johnny Depp

    Warner Bros. Pictures

    When Johnny returned in this 2018 sequel, his reputation was less than sparkling thanks to his high profile relationship with fellow actor Amber Heard. The couple had already divorced by 2017, but the media storm around their relationship was in full swing. In 2018, Amber wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post saying she was abused. Though the piece didn't mention Johnny by name, she had previously alleged he had been abusive in 2016, and had obtained a temporary restraining order against the actor.

    Laurent KOFFEL/Gamma-Rapho / Via Getty Images

    The complicated legal battle between Amber and Johnny would continue for years into the future, but back in 2018, fans were still outraged that Johnny's role was not re-cast for The Crimes of Grindelwald. A petition was even set up to protest Johnny's continued involvement in the films. Despite this, Johnny was not recast and the film went ahead as planned earning poor box office returns. He was replaced with Mads Mikkelsen for the third and final film.

    10. The Birth of a Nation – Nate Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin

    Fox Searchlight Pictures

    The Birth of a Nation – starring the likes of Colman Domingo, Gabrielle Union, and Armie Hammer – generated significant buzz back in 2016. The film was the talk of Sundance Film Festival that year, and looked set to sweep a ton of Oscars; Netflix even offered $20 million for a streaming and theatrical release deal. Then the news of an alleged rape by director Nate Parker and writer Jean McGianni Celestin back in 1999 resurfaced.

    Francois G. Durand / Via Getty Images

    As BuzzFeed News writer Anne Helen Petersen asserts, Nate had become the face of the film, and so the news of the allegations (coupled with anti-gay comments he had made in 2014) unreservedly doomed the film. Nate – who was charged with rape but acquitted of all charges in 2001 – attempted to deflect from the situation. However, the tide soon turned against him thanks to social media users and commentators who believed no "powerful Black narrative should come at the expense of the violation of a woman's body." A woman who killed herself in 2012 after suffering from a "major depressive disorder with psychotic features [and] PTSD", which her brother believed could be traced to her assault in 1999.

    The film was considered a financial disappointment, losing Fox Searchlight Pictures over $10M.

    11. And, of course, The Flash – Ezra Miller

    Warner Bros. Pictures

    The Flash opens in cinemas tomorrow, but reception for the movie so far has been more than divisive. Since 2020, Ezra has faced numerous accusations and a string of arrests, ranging from disorderly conduct to harassment, burglary, and grooming of minors. Despite this, they continue to promote the film, even appearing at last week's Los Angeles premiere where they walked the red carpet and posed with fans.

    Leon Bennett / WireImage / Via Getty Images

    Many fans have called out both Ezra and Warner Bros. for ignoring the actor's actions and choosing to go ahead with the film. Writer and actor Issa Rae told Elle Magazine that the incident is a "microcosm of Hollywood", and warned of a "constant pattern of abuse that'll only persist if Hollywood continues to insist on being this way".

    Did we miss anyone out? Did any of these surprise you? Let us know in the comments below.