Ashley Moody raises Cuties controversy in hearing about Netflix-Warner Bros. merger

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody pressed the streaming giant Netflix about its history of distributing controversial films.

During a Senate hearing on a potential merger of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, the Plant City Republican recalled a prior controversy about the film “Cuties.” Moody pressed Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos about whether that track record showed the company can act with responsibility as the largest entertainment distributor in the nation.

“I was the Attorney General in Florida at the time, and mother of a young child, and immediately raised concerns to your company, who quickly dismissed my concerns,” she said. “and you say, ‘Well, that was rated for adults.’”

Moody incorrectly said in the hearing that “Cuties” was recommended for audiences ages 15 and older. Sarandos noted it was actually rated for mature audiences.

In 2020, Moody signed onto a letter with three other state attorneys general demanding the film be taken down because it showed a young girl’s exposed breasts, effectively showing the generation of child pornography.

That led to an indictment in Texas in 2021, though the case was dismissed in 2023.

Moody pressed Sarandos on whether any guardrails would be put in place to limit access to such “highly objectionable content” on the streaming platform.

“Our social media postings are not a place for politics,” he said. “Our business intent is to entertain the world. It is not to have a political agenda.”

The hearing took place as a number of former antitrust enforcers called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to review merger standards regarding the deal.

“Based on a wealth of precedent and empirical evidence, we encourage DOJ to recognize that most mergers, particularly vertical mergers, raise no competitive concerns because they are either benign or promote The Netflix-Warner Bros. merger has both vertical and horizontal elements, but the crux of the deal is vertical in nature,” a letter reads.

But Moody and senators from both sides of the aisle said in the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee there were legitimate fears about the size of the merger discussed with Netflix.

“Antitrust laws were created to ensure that there’s meaningful competition, to protect consumers,” Moody said.