20th Century Fox apologises for 'X-Men: Apocalypse' billboards

Studio 20th Century Fox have issued an official apology over the X-Men: Apocalypse marketing which highlighted Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique being strangled by Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse.

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The images, which had been featured on massive billboard ads for the movie in New York and Los Angeles, had attracted vocal criticism online for their portrayal of violence against women.

These billboard ads have since been taken down.

An official statement from the studio reads, "In our enthusiasm to show the villainy of the character Apocalypse, we didn’t immediately recognise the upsetting connotation of this image in print form.

"Once we realised how insensitive it was, we quickly took steps to remove those materials.

"We apologise for our actions and would never condone violence against women.”

One high profile opponent of the ads was actress Rose McGowan, who complained, "There is a major problem when the men and women at 20th Century Fox think casual violence against women is the way to market a film."

Though it opened in other territories earlier (including Britain), X-Men: Apocalypse has only been out a week in the US.

It has made approximately $292 million at the worldwide box office so far.

Ben Bussey writes for Yahoo Movies UK

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