Director Gina Prince-Bythewood Reacts to Outrage Over ‘The Woman King’

*Viola Davis’ new film “The Woman King” is receiving major backlash across social media due to what many believe is a revisionist representation of the slave trade.

Critics are calling out the fact that the film downplays the role that the Dahomey of West Africa (and the female military members of the Agodjie) had in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 1800s. Davis is catching heat for starring in and producing the film that many believe attempts to rewrite history.

Director Gina Prince-Bythewood reacted to the critics, telling IndieWire, “I learned early on you cannot win an argument on Twitter. And I know all of that is going to go away once they see the film. There’s an assumption we’re not dealing with it and we are dealing with it,” Prince-Bythewood said. 

“So I have to live in that confidence. They’re going to see the film and they’re going to see it,” she added.

READ MORE: #BoycottWomanKing Sets Hollywood & Black America on Fire Over ‘The Woman King’ Movie | WATCH

“I think that we did not hesitate to investigate those areas,” producer Cathy Schulman told IndieWire. “The fact is that slavery is driven by material gain. It offered up people on this continent an option to make money that should not have been offered up or forced upon them. And, once it was, it created all sorts of internal conflict, and we don’t hesitate in visiting that within the film.”

We reported previously that the film launched the #BOYCOTTWOMANKING” movement on Twitter, with many in opposition to the movie making the women warriors heroes.

Meanwhile, Deadline reports that “The Woman King” had an impressive $18 million opening at the box office.

In related news, we caught up with some of the cast for an exclusive conversation about the film — read more here.

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