Filmmaker Paul Feig took aim at popular culture and social media for constantly pushing “unnecessary outrage” and cited the kerfuffle over actress Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad.
Feig, who directed films including Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, A Simple Favor, and the much-panned 2016 remake of Ghostbusters, appeared at Variety’s “Power of Law Breakfast,” where he received the paper’s 2026 Power of Law Award.
At one point during the discussion, he brought up the problem of Internet outrage machines.
“We want free spirits,” he said of the public discourse in America. “You can only control what you can, and people get through it. Sydney [Sweeney] had a contentious thing — but whatever,” he said.
“Unnecessary outrage is the biggest problem in our society right now. People get so outraged about stupid shit… when there’s all kinds of things to be outraged about, becoming outraged about pop culture — trust me, I made the female Ghostbusters ten years ago and you would have thought I launched an invasion of Iran.”
Feig’s all-female remake of Ghostbusters was roundly criticized by both critics and fans when it debuted n 2016. The movie was called an “unfunny mess” and lacking “inventiveness.” Another critic said the film was “It’s all busy-ness, noise, and chaos, with zero thrills and very little sustainable comic buoyancy.”
The film also became a target of attacks online as fans ripped the film as woke for its terrible all-female cast.
Feig directed Sweeney in the sexually-charged thriller The Housemaid, which became an international hit and justified the greenlighting of a sequel.
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