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After The Hunt stars Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri have addressed the backlash and controversy surrounding the freshly released film.
Helmed by Luca Guadagnino, the film explores a complex plot set in an academic institution, where a student named Maggie accuses one of the professors of s*xual assault. This professor, Hank, is a close friend of Alma, Maggie's teacher. In the process, Alma and Maggie become embroiled in a confrontational situation, as Alma is also trying to conceal her checkered past.
After The Hunt, upon its release, received flak for its treatment of such sensitive topics. However, in a recent interview with Gayle King at CBS Mornings, Ayo Edebiri and Julia Roberts talk about the disagreements that the audience had with the film, as Roberts states:
"That's the ultimate goal, I think, of any piece of art is you don't want anybody to walk away from this painting".
Keep reading to see what more the stars talk about the After The Hunt criticism.
Here's what Ayo Edebiri and Julia Roberts say about the controversy of After The Hunt
The Ayo Edebiri-Julia Roberts starrer, After The Hunt, made its release on 10th October 2025. However, upon its release, it has received criticism over the way sensitive topics such as s*xual assault have been handled in this film.
Many of the audiences were of the opinion that the message this film puts out could be detrimental to social movements such as #MeToo, which has been spearheaded and brought into action due to the lasting and strenuous efforts of countless women. Many believed this film to reinforce the misogynistic tropes of bringing women to fight against other women, as well as the age-old skepticism of believability, which continues in this film too.
However, in a conversation with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, both Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri were asked about the controversy that After the Hunt has generated. In the interview, King asks:
"So the crux of the movie is, your [Robert's character "Alma"] devoted protégée [Edebiri's character "Maggie"] accuses your closest confidante of assault. And then we're off to the races about 'did he', 'did he not', 'who's telling the truth', 'who isn't'. It's a talker from beginning to end in this movie. Does that scare you or is it exciting to you to know that audiences will be walking out of this movie talking and probably disagreeing?"
Upon which, Julia Roberts responds by saying:
"That's the ultimate goal, I think, of any piece of art is you don't want anybody to walk away from this painting and just be like — [doing the 'turning away' gesture]. That's death."
According to Roberts, Ayo Edebiri mentions by stating about the importance of nuance and disagreements in discussions related to such topics, as she says:
"I think it's also a movie you have to talk about it with someone else. It's like you have to find somebody and make space for nuance and listening and you know, discussion, disagreement even."
To which Julia Roberts adds to her statement by mentioning:
"And indecision. I think there's so many things that go on in this movie, that the truths and untruths and half-truths and people pretending to be something that they're not and why."
Furthermore, Gayle King asked Roberts about her opinion regarding who's telling the truth, to which the Notting Hill star nods and says:
"Yes, I do."
When Julia Roberts was asked to reveal it further, she responded by saying:
"That is for me to know."
To which King asked her about her reasons for not sharing it, to which Roberts replied:
"Because I think it does a disservice to a person's own, because what I believe isn't the truth. It's not the correct answer."
Have you watched After The Hunt yet? What are your thoughts about the film?
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