Paul Feig Says Female Ghostbusters Backlash Most “Vile, Misogynistic Sh** I’ve Ever Seen in My Life”
He also addresses the Dudebusters news.
In a recent Variety interview for his new comedy Spy, director Paul Feig was asked how he felt about the tiny man-babies who claim his all-female Ghostbusters reboot will retroactively ruin their childhood:
The Internet is really funny – I love it, but I hate it at the same time […] The first wave when you make an announcement like that is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone’s so happy and you’re like, This is great. Then comes the second wave and you’re like, Oh my God. Some of the most vile, misogynistic sh** I’ve ever seen in my life.
Feig talked in particular about the “vicious” remarks he saw on Twitter, saying “The biggest thing I’ve heard for the last four months is, ‘Thanks for ruining my childhood.’ It’s going to be on my tombstone when I die. It’s so dramatic. Honestly, the only way I could ruin your childhood is if I got into a time machine and went back and made you an orphan.”
The director says that after receiving a particularly hateful tweet (most of which would likely be even worse if Feig was a woman), he often checks out the offender’s profile: “I figure it’s some wacked out teenager. But almost constantly it’s someone whose bio says, ‘Proud father of two!’ And has some high end job. You’re raising children and yet you’re bashing me about putting women in my movie?”
Although Feig was originally in talks to make a straight sequel to Ghostbusters, the director says he couldn’t “get my head around” what to do with the opportunity until he thought of all the “funny, amazing” women he’d like to bring into the franchise. As for the recently-announced “Who Will think of the Ghostmenz????” movie?
I’d heard some rumblings about it. Who knew there were so many ghosts to be busted in the world? All I know is my ladies are going to kick ass and I would not want to go into battle without them.
Sadly, it seems there’s at least one ghost to be busted for every insecure online asshole terrified by (and determined to hate) any content that might not directly represent them. Our ladies have a lot of work to do.
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