Paul Feig Supports Patty Jenkins, Slams James Cameron Following ‘Wonder Woman’ Criticism

Director Paul Feig recently defended “Wonder Woman” against James Cameron’s criticism that it was a “step backwards.”

On Friday, the “Ghostbusters” director tweeted his support for the film, as well as director Patty Jenkins, who also defended the Gal Gadot-starrer on Thursday. Feig stressed the fact that any great leading roles for women are a “step forward.” He also said that both Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), a character from Cameron’s “Terminator 2” movie, and Wonder Woman (Gadot) are awesome.

Cameron spoke with The Guardian on Wednesday and expressed his thoughts about the film, as well as how Hollywood embraced it.

“All of the self-regulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over ‘Wonder Woman’ has been so misguided. 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 was a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, the benefit of characters like Sarah is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!” he said.

After Cameron’s interview with the publication was released online, Jenkins immediately came to the defense of “Wonder Woman” via her Twitter account. In May, the 46-year-old director also spoke up against those who found fault in Wonder Woman’s image and sex appeal.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Jenkins said, “I get frustrated by people who think that they’re defending Wonder Woman by trying to make her lesser. When people get super critical about her outfit, who’s the one getting crazy about what a woman wears? That’s who she is; that’s Wonder Woman. I want her to look like my childhood fantasy.”

“Wonder Woman” lead star Gadot told Rolling Stone earlier this week that she’s pleased with the success of the film, which grossed around $800 million worldwide. “It just shows that the world was ready for a female-driven action movie,” she said.

Gadot also revealed that she’s a feminist and said that everyone should be one because if not, they will be considered “sexist.”