David Ayer Candidly Responds To Criticism That Harley Was Overly ‘Sexualized’ In ‘Suicide Squad’

Director David Ayer has had a lot to say about Suicide Squad since it came out in 2016. He denied an inaccurate report about Jared Leto’s screentime, compared the savage reviews to having his “throat cut,” and confessed that the Joker’s “damaged” forehead tattoo was “one step too far.” Ayer keeps talking (tweeting) about Suicide Squad, because people keep asking him about it, especially when it comes to Harley Quinn.

In response to a Twitter follower writing that “Harley was sexualized in the entire Suicide Squad movie and in Birds of Prey, she was a real character, not a eyecandy,” Ayer replied, “Sadly her story arc was eviscerated. It was her movie in so many ways. Look I tried. I rendered Harley comic book accurate. Everything is political now. Everything. I just want to entertain. I will do better.” That confession led to this back and forth.

“A female character in an abusive relationship is already political, my dude. The way your camera looked at her was political. The way you used her was political. You treated her as an object and she still rose above it. That was political too,” Twitter user The Notorious LHB wrote, to which Ayer responded, “Retweeting because this is very thoughtfully written. Thank you for this. I am growing and learning in a changing world.”

Good on Ayer for admitting that maybe his Harley Quinn wasn’t the best depiction of the character, but you know who the real winner in all this is? Margot Robbie for barely being on Twitter. I wouldn’t want to step into this whole mess, either.

(Via Twitter/David Ayer)