Paul Feig, director of the 2016 all-female reboot Ghostbustersblames Donald Trump in part for the racist and sexist criticism the film has received from online trolls.
During a recent interview with The Guardianthe director looked back on all the hate the action comedy, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, faced after its debut.
“The political climate at the time was really strange, with Hillary Clinton running for office in 2016,” he recalled. “There were a lot of guys looking for a fight. When I was getting filled with posts, on Twitter, I would go back and see who they were. Many were Trump supporters.”
But it didn't stop there, as Feig said Trump, who would later become president of the United States, only added fuel to the fire with his rhetoric.
“Then Trump turned against us,” he said prize money! said the director. “He was like, “They're redoing Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. You can't do it. And now they're doing it Ghostbusters with only women. What's going on?” and I got all angry.
Feig continued: “Everyone has become fucking cannibals. He turned the film into a political statement, as if to say, “If you're pro-women, you'll go see it.” If you're not, then…' I didn't think it mattered at all that the main characters were women, but people brought a lot of baggage.
THE Simple wedding favor the director also explained why he opted for a Ghostbusters reboot rather than a sequel to the original 1984 and 1989 films, starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts.
“I count [Murray] he had publicly said he didn't want to do anything else Ghostbusters at that point,” Feig recalled. “Harold Ramis was dead. Dan and Ernie were there, but half the team felt weird. It was 30 years ago and Bill and the gang were so iconic; I didn't want to do anything that would damage the original films.