Paramount has sparked backlash after reportedly posting and deleting a tweet about Robert De Niro's character in Martin Scorcese's Killers of the Flower Moon.
Twitter/X account @DocNoirII posted a still from the movie of Robert De Niro's character William Hale wearing large goggles with the caption "this was crazy".
Killers of the Flower Moon follows the true story of the Osage nation who were murdered by Hale and his nephews Ernest and Bryan Burkhart due to the oil found under the land.
The reason for De Niro being dressed in large goggles is because he is supposed to resemble an owl, which symbolises death for the Osage people.
The official Paramount Pictures account allegedly replied to the original tweet saying "you know he had to do it to 'em", with the sunglasses emoji - likely referring to the goggles worn by De Niro.
However, it is unsurprising that many have taken the comment to imply that Hale had to murder the Osage people, understandably causing outrage by the offensive nature of the tweet.
Even Lily Gladstone, who played Mollie Kyle, and grew up on the reservation of the Blackfeet Nation, expressed her anger at the thoughtless response from Paramount, who distributed the film:
One user called Paramount's response "horrific":
Another called it "tone deaf":
Whilst most expressed pure disbelief at the comment:
Although Paramount deleted the tweet, they have not issued a statement or apology.
Indy100 reached out to Paramount for comment.
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