The 23-year-old actress who stars as Sophie in the comedy horror film directed by Halina Reijn faces intense backlash after she criticizes New York Times film critic Lena Wilson.
- Aug 19, 2022
AceShowbiz - Amandla Stenberg has addressed the intense backlash over her comment on The New York Times film critic Lena Wilson's "Bodies Bodies Bodies" review. Making use of her social media account, "The Darkest Minds" actress defended herself.
On Thursday, August 18, the 23-year-old actress posted a video to her Instagram Stories, explaining why she reached out to Lena with a controversial message. "I'm receiving a lot of commentary on the internet for being a very naughty girl and for sending a DM that I thought was hilarious," she began.
"There's a film critic and her name is Lena Wilson. She described ['Bodies Bodies Bodies'] as a 95 minute advertisement for cleavage,' which I thought was hilarious. I'm proud that a piece of work I was a part of was described as such in such a renowned publication," Amandla continued.
Amandla further elaborated on why she "thought it was hilarious." She reasoned, "I thought because Lena is gay, and I am also gay…as gay people we would both find this comment funny. I was also curious to know what Lena would say to such a statement. Lena decided to publish it and also says that I am homophobic for saying that."
Amandla later insisted that another main reason she decided to reach out to Lena was that Lena's comment marked the latest example of someone commenting on her chest. "It's quite surprising the amount of commentary I receive on my boobs," so said "The Hate U Give" star. "I wrote this tank top in this movie because me and the costumed designer felt it fit the character well. I do get tired of people talking about my chest. There seems to be a lot of unwarranted conversation about my chest."
"Lena, I thought your review was hilarious. I thought my DM was funny," Amandla further stressed. "I did not mean to harass you. I do not wish you any harm. You are allowed to have your criticism on my work and I'm allowed to have my criticisms of your work. I wish you the best."
Amandla's clarification arrived after she DMed Lena over the latter's movie review. In the review, Lena wrote, "The only thing that really sets 'Bodies Bodies Bodies' apart is its place in the A24 hype machine, where it doubles as a 95-minute advertisement for cleavage and Charli XCX's latest single." In response, Amandla texted her, "ur review is great, maybe if you had gotten ur eyes off my tits you could've watched the movie!"
Upon receiving Amandla's text, Lena decided to expose her, taking to her Twitter account to share a screenshot of the DM. "do you think she instagram DM'd Alison Willmore, Justin Chang and Anthony Lane like this or," Lena wrote over the screengrab, referring to other film critics. "always weird when the homophobia is coming from inside the house but this is something."
"Bodies Bodies Bodies" is comedy horror film directed by Halina Reijn. The slasher film, which also stars Rachel Sennott, Maria Bakalova and Pete Davidson, follows a group of rich 20-somethings at a hurricane party that goes awry at a remote family mansion.
