This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9/11 Poster Didn't Go Over So Well
The Michael Bay-produced movie reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is due out in Australia on Sept. 11, and Paramount Pictures probably could have picked a better image for the promo poster than the Turtles leaping from an exploding skyscraper.
The studio kept the image on Twitter and on its Facebook page—which has 6.5 million followers—for a couple of hours before social media backlash and "Turtles did 9/11" jokes forced them to take it down.
@bowlesy @mrmickeylowe @LukeWhiston turtles did 9/11
— Will eXswitch (@exswitchdnb) July 29, 2014
@RealNickHodge @leslienassar is that starfish shape near Donatello a person being jettisoned violently from the building O_o
— Sophie G (@SophieAG) July 29, 2014
The movie's U.S. release date is August 8, so a poster designed for American audiences could have had its date swapped in Australia without anyone at the studio anticipating how some fans would read it.
Paramount hasn't released a statement.
"Nor has it made any explanation of the decision to release the new film on the anniversary of the attacks," pointed out The Daily Mail, apparently flabbergasted at the gall of scheduling a Sept. 11 Australian launch for a film that has nothing to do with the World Trade Center attacks.
The studio also hasn't confirmed whether the Turtles, in fact, did 9/11. Conspiracy?
