Luckiest Girl Alive became a hit on Netflix overnight and was the most-watched film on the streaming site across October 3-9, clocking up more than 43 million hours viewed. Even weeks later, it still remains in Netflix's top 10 films in the UK list, currently in fifth spot.
It sees the return of much-loved Ukrainian actress Mila Kunis take the lead role of Ani Fanelli, a woman who has sought to reinvent herself in adult life and appears to have it all - a rich and handsome fiancé and a job at a women's glossy magazine. But as she is approached by a director for a new documentary, she is forced to confront her dark past, which saw her gang-raped as a teen by her classmates and later escape a school shooting.
While there is no denying Netflix viewers enjoyed the plot and acting, many others turned to social media to warn people about the very graphic scenes of sexual assault. Hundreds, including Rape Crisis England & Wales, have urged the film streamers to show a large trigger warning before it begins.
Currently, Luckiest Girl Alive, which is rated 18, has a warning at the top left-hand side of the screen stating: "Sexual violence, violence, threat". But this wasn't enough, some argue.
"I was bamboozled by Netflix's description of luckiest girl alive. No trigger warning no heads up no nothing," one social media user tweeted.
Another shared: "Netflix really dropped the ball on not adding a giant trigger warning for Luckiest Girl Alive" while another urged: "Yeah um luckiest girl alive needs a massive trigger warning on it I am so sick to my stomach right now watching this wtf".
One more shared: "The Luckiest Girl Alive is a really hard watch. If you decide to watch it this is a trigger warning for SA/Rape. Netflix dropped the ball with not disclosing a trigger warning before the movie because I did not expect this at all and can very much trigger a lot of women/men."
Jayne Butler, CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales, says the responsibility shouldn't lie with social media users to warn people about the intense scenes of sexual violence depicted in the film.
"It is vital that viewers can make an informed choice about watching a film that could impact their health and well-being," she tells The Mirror.
"It is a sign of solidarity that viewers are taking to social media to give others a trigger warning, but the onus should not be on them to do this."
Jayne explains the effect not having a more obvious warning can have on viewers that have traumatic experiences of sexual assault and rape.
"Any representation of sexual violence in the media, but in particular graphic depictions, can be extremely traumatising for victims and survivors - many of whom are still coping with the negative impacts of their experiences," she begins.
"The prevalence of rape and sexual assault in society means that it will inevitably feature in popular culture, and there are clear opportunities for TV shows and films to help shape the narrative around sexual violence.
"But to do this, there must be consultation with victims, survivors and specialist support groups to ensure that content is not damaging."
The hit film is based on the novel of the same name by Jessica Knoll, which was based on her own experiences.
The author revealed in a personal essay on Lenny Letter, a year after it was published in 2016, that she experienced a similar gang rape when she was a student at a private school.
In harrowing scenes, Jessica relates her violent rape by three boys, after she "slipped away from the waking world" at a party when she was 15 years old.
"I always feel a little undeserving of being called, like, brave or courageous, because I had to [open up] in fiction. There were these duelling things inside of me. I desperately craved the release of getting my story out on paper, and the validation of recognising what had happened to me as rape. I needed that," she told Today.
"But on the other hand, I was frightened that people would read it and come to the same conclusion that people did when I was in high school, which was that no violation had occurred and that I had somehow participated in it."
While most of Ani's experiences were inspired by Jessica's life, the shooting was made up for the book, with a sad reason why she felt she had to include it.
"I still had the idea in my head that what happened to Ani wasn't bad enough, because that's what happened to me. I thought I had to make it worse," Jessica also told Today.
"She's now carrying the fact that they are 'good victims'. They've been gunned down. The community is mourning their deaths. Then, on top of it, Dean does something good and powerful with what happened to him. It becomes even harder for her to come forward."
The author defended the backlash in the US amid calls for further warnings on the screen adaptation, telling Variety: "We've done a lot to be sensitive about all of the very sensitive issues that are in the film.
"I am a little surprised by it, honestly, because there's so much violence against women in a lot of things out there right now. I just don't see people in an uproar about that. We've gone to all these lengths in all these other ways, and I'm happy to do it. I want there to be resources for people. I want people to be prepared going in, so yeah, it's a little surprising."
The Mirror contacted Netflix for a comment, however there was no response.
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, who work towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999.
