Sony Apologizes For Insensitive Peter Rabbit Food-Allergy Scene After Backlash
The new Peter Rabbit movie already wasn't having the best weekend. It came in second at the box office to the much-maligned Fifty Shades Freed amidst a slew of mixed reviews noting that the movie turns the classic title character into "an insufferable dick," as The A.V. Club's Jesse Hassenger put it. Then the movie was slammed with a boycott.
Peter Rabbit involves the age-old standoff between the title bunny and Mr. McGregor, as in the gentle, beloved books of old. But in the movie, Peter and his friends wage an all-out war against Mr. McGregor, including taking advantage of the fact that he is allergic to blackberries, pummeling him with the berries until he goes into anaphylactic shock and has to find an epi pen. This scene is unsurprisingly upsetting to parents of children with allergies: Not only may those children find that scene frightening, it also indicates how to bully a person with allergies. As The Washington Post reports today:
The scene prompted backlash from allergy advocacy groups ike the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and Kids With Food Allergies Foundation, and parents of children with food allergies, who said the scene "mocked an attack that in real life could have proved fatal. The segment led to a hashtag— #boycottpeterrabbit—and an online petition demanding an apology."
That apology arrived yesterday from Sony Pictures, which issued "a joint statement with the filmmakers, saying that food allergies are a serious issue and the film 'should not have made light' of a character being allergic to blackberries 'even in a cartoonish, slapstick way.'" The filmmakers also stated that they "sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologize," according to The Associated Press.
Unsurprisingly, on Twitter, reactions ranged to just suggesting staying away from Peter Rabbit if you don't want to see it to out-and-out condemnation. Frankly, it just gives us another reason to stay away from a movie that already looks pretty terrible, and we'll take our kids to anything in the theater. Like Cars 3.
**Warning** For those who have children that live with food allergies (like mine), do NOT go see the new Peter Rabbit movie. Finding "humor" in bullying by Peter & friends to an allergy friend (who then needs an Epi) is sickening. Shame on @SonyPictures #BoycottPeterRabbit
— Thomas C. Murray (@thomascmurray) February 10, 2018
So people are calling for a boycott of the Peter Rabbit movie because of food allergy bullying???? Give me a break! Society, get over yourself. As time goes on, skin grows thinner. People like this need to get a life, seriously. This is absurd.
— Seth Stokes (@SethStokesWORD) February 12, 2018
Nice job to the idiot at Sony that made Peter Rabbit into a bully, who thinks it's funny to activate a food allergy. Can someone tell me how it was integral to the storyline, and that there was no way to have the movie work without it??
— Nicole Grove (@groveysgirl) February 10, 2018