The reaction to Zoolander 2, upon its release, was pretty telling.
Lots and lots of people really didn't enjoy Ben Stiller's return to the world of fashion and, as well, a good few people took issue with Benedict Cumerbatch's androgynous character, All. The film was boycotted and protested by LGBT activists and, as well as this, the film performed quite poorly at the box-office.
A recent campus screening at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California of Zoolander 2 was cancelled by the programming board. In a statement released by the college programming board, "we observed that the film did not portray the LGBTQ community in a positive light and made a series of inappropriate jokes at the expense of individuals of marginalized identities," those being trans people. "The College Programming Board strives to put on events which support an inclusive community on campus. We did not believe that screening ‘Zoolander 2’ reflected our values, nor did it help us promote the campus climate we hope to create."
Instead, the programming board opted for Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds and features Reynolds being taken from behind with a strap-on. No, really. As well as this, Deadpool was cited by some reviewers as being misogynistic, however this didn't seem to bother the programming board at all.
"Though ‘Deadpool’ is a R-rated movie it does not target marginalized identities the way Zoolander did. Our choice to cancel the film was a calculated choice that we felt would support and respect our community on campus," the statement finished.
When asked if the decision to not screen Zoolander 2 was hyper-sensitive, the college programming board did not respond. Maybe it's just because Zoolander 2 wasn't that good and they wanted an excuse not to show it?
Who knows.
