She-Ra Reboot Voice Actress Calls Character Design Criticism Sexist at New York Comic Con

The She-Ra reboot had a panel at New York Comic Con on Thursday where they released their first full trailer, but it also saw star Aimee Carrero call criticism of She-Ra’s new design sexist.

Carrero who voices She-Ra in the upcoming Netflix reboot said the criticism is “easy to ignore.” However, she questioned, “It’s 2018 and we’re commenting on women’s bodies still?” She would continue, “We’re still doing that? Haven’t we learned enough? So it’s kind of boring, to be honest, and easy to ignore.”

Noelle Stevenson, who is helming the reboot also addressed the criticism:

“We have this wall of fan art in the office that we’ve been adding to, whenever new fan art comes in and it’s exploded. That’s so much of what I’ve seen in response and by comparison, the naysayers haven’t been the loudest voice.

So I think, when I get that question, I’m kinda just like, ‘Why are those the voices that we center? Why are those the opinions that we raise up, above other opinions?’ I’m interested in that.”

What’s truly ironic about Carrero’s comments is the fact that people’s bodies will probably always be commented on as long as humans live on this Earth.

In fact, the Book of Genesis from the Bible even comments on people’s bodies:

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.”

And yes commenting on people’s bodies is still popular in 2018. In fact, another Netflix show has come under fire for the way it depicts a woman’s body.

A petition on Change.org calls for Netflix to cancel Insatiable because it body-shames. The petition created by Florence Given claims the show is “insidious and sinister for teenage girls.” She also claims the show “will cause eating disorders, and perpetuate the further objectification of women’s bodies. The trailer has already triggered people with eating disorders. Let’s stop this, and protect further damage.”

The petition has been signed by over 235,000 people.

Insatiable stars actress Debby Ryan who is an overweight high schooler who loses weight after being punched in the face by a homeless man. During recovery her jaw is wired shut. After her weight loss, Ryan’s character, seeks revenge on the people who bullied her.

And while there are also debates about body image on other TV shows, Carrero might want to look at the weight loss industry before making any more ridiculous comments. The weight loss industry was a $66 billion industry in 2017. I’m pretty sure there were plenty of discussions around kitchen tables or on people’s couches about both men’s and women’s bodies.

But it’s not really women’s bodies people are commenting on when it comes to the She-Ra criticism. Carrero’s statements are really a deflection of the original criticism. In fact, she’s actually trying to target potential by labeling them sexist. This is just absurd and disgusting. Having an opinion about a character’s design whether they are male or female is completely valid. If you don’t like something you are allowed to express that and you shouldn’t be labeled sexist by people like Aimee Carrero.

And to make matters worse for Carrero, the criticism is actually valid. The new She-Ra design is drastically different from the original character. A design that most people wouldn’t call She-Ra if not for DreamWorks TV, Noelle Stevenson, and Netflix calling the character She-Ra. In fact, a number of fans had a hard time not only recognizing She-Ra, but the supporting cast as well. Even people who were interested in the show or actually thought the teaser was interesting pointed out bad character designs.

Instead of trying to label people sexists or manbabies like The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson did, it might go a long way to getting people to watch your show to admit you made mistakes and are making adjustments. It’s something Battlefield V appears to be doing. Whether or not they will follow through still remains to be seen. But at least they signaled they are listening to their paying customers. Aimee Carrero and the Netflix team don’t seem to give a flying hoot what their customers think and they think so little of them they are willing to call them nasty names.

What do you think of Aimee Carrero’s comments? Does it turn you off from tuning into She-Ra and The Princesses of Power on Netflix?

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