Director Ryan Coogler, of the much anticipated “Black Panther” film, responded unfazed to a hate group who planned to sabotage the movie’s success before it even hits theaters.
Blavity reported that a Facebook group, Down With Disney’s Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys, conspired and asked it’s member to give the movie a low score on Rotten Tomatoes. Roughly 4,000 people were planning to participate. The page has since been taken down by Facebook.
A spokesperson from Rotten Tomatoes said the company does not tolerate acts of hate.
“While we respect our fans’ diverse opinions, we do not condone hate speech. Our team of security, network and social experts continue to closely monitor our platforms and any users who engage in such activities will be blocked from our site and their comments removed as quickly as possible.”
When asked about the situation, Coogler welcomed anyone to view the film and let the art speak for itself.
“I’m looking forward to everybody seeing the film, I’m really looking forward to sharing the film with audiences regardless of what their political views are … that’s kind of where I [stand on that].”
Coogler also noted that scores on sites, such as Rotten Tomatoes, don’t entirely define the value of a movie and that he is open to constructive criticism.
“It quicker to look at the consensus than it is to read the articles. But I’m a person who definitely respects film criticism and draws on it in the filmmaking process,” he said.
