James Cameron calls Wonder Woman "a step backwards"

“Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins on Thursday night hit back at James Cameron, who in a recent interview called the superhero film a “step backwards.”

In a tweet, she said “James Cameron’s inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though, he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman.”
In an interview published Thursday by The Guardian, Cameron said Hollywood’s “self-congratulatory back-patting” over “’Wonder Woman’ has been so misguided.”

He continued: “She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards.”

Cameron, who has featured strong women in leading roles, then praised his Sarah Connor character from “Terminator 2.” He said Connor “was not a beauty icon. She was wrong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit.”

His comments were immediately met by strong criticism on Twitter. Many called his remarks sexist.

In her response, Jenkins also referenced Cameron’s past praise of her film, “Monster,” in which Charlize Theron won the Academy Award for best actress that year for her gritty interpretation of serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

“His praise of my film … and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated. But if women have to always be hard, tough, and troubled to be strong, and we aren’t free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven’t come very far,” she wrote.