I’m Not Ashamed Producer May Sue Google for Banning Movie Trailer for Over a Year

Google pulled the movie's YouTube trailer for over a year, causing a sharp loss in online marketing.

By Nancy Flory Published on October 31, 2016

Last year, Chuck Howard, producer of I’m Not Ashamed, set up a YouTube channel to promote the upcoming movie and behind the scenes footage of the film, which stars Sadie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame. Now he’s considering suing Google, claiming they pulled the plug on his channel and trailer last October, costing him at least 11 months in online marketing.

The film, which is based on the real-life story of Rachel Scott, the first student killed in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, was released by PureFlix on October 21, 2016. The trailer was viewed over 5 million times before YouTube pulled it down and the company has yet to provide a reason for doing so, reported The Christian Post.

When The Hollywood Reporter questioned why Howard’s channel and trailer were pulled, YouTube reinstated them, again without providing an explanation as to their claim of offensive content. According to The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube provided the statement that “With the massive volume of videos on our platform, sometimes we make the wrong call on content that is flagged by our community. When this is brought to our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring videos or channels that were mistakenly removed.”

However, Howard’s channel was hit with a “temporary penalty” even after it was reinstated, and he was warned that further objectionable videos “could prevent you from posting content to YouTube or even lead to your account being terminated.” Following the reinstatement, attorney Garrick Stotser in a letter to YouTube said there have been virtually no views.

While he hasn’t filed suit yet, Howard told The Washington Times that he’s considering all legal options available to him on the advice of his attorneys. “We’ve missed 11 months’ worth of advertising. They’ve destroyed us from carrying the momentum that we originally had going forward.”

Howard doesn’t believe YouTube’s explanation of mistaken flagging washes, especially considering all of the objectionable videos available on the site. “They have bootleg movies and all this kind of stuff up there, but they take down my site?” He told the Times. “They have recruitment of ISIS on the site and beheadings, but they take down my video? I can’t believe it.”

At least one atheist group complained that a scene where Rachel said she was a Christian when asked by one of the shooters before he killed her was a false depiction because those statements were not included in original police reports. They were, however, included in later statements by a student who was close to Rachel when she was killed.

 

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