--- ---  # _Ghostbusters_ Director Paul Feig Responds to 'Misogynistic' Criticism Over Female-Led Cast  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 5, 2016 3:33 PM UTC  (L-R) Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, 'Ghostbusters' director Paul Feig, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones attend CinemaCon 2016 An Evening with Sony Pictures Entertainment on April 12, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (L-R) Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, 'Ghostbusters' director Paul Feig, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones attend CinemaCon 2016 An Evening with Sony Pictures Entertainment on April 12, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Todd Williamson—2016 Todd Williamson  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 5, 2016 3:33 PM UTC Paul Feig, the director behind the upcoming female-led _Ghostbusters_ reboot, [said](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paul-feig-responds-misogynistic-ghostbusters-899689) he’s heard the “worst misogynistic stuff” since the Sony film was announced last year and [sparked controversy over the all-women main cast](http://time.com/4086937/kristen-wiig-female-ghostbusters-backlash/). “We still get called, in the press, a ‘chick flick.’ We are never not referred to as the ‘all-female _Ghostbusters_,’ which makes me crazy,” he said Saturday, [according to the Hollywood _Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paul-feig-responds-misogynistic-ghostbusters-899689). Feig, speaking during a panel discussion at the PGA’s annual Produced By conference, said it was his idea for Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones to star in the [sequel](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/29/original-ghostbusters-returning-theaters) to the 1984 original. “I wanted to do an origin story and I thought the best way to do it was by doing it with the funniest women I know,” he said. The director said he was surprised to receive sexist backlash over casting of the film, which hits theaters July 15\. “I have been hit with some of the worst misogynistic stuff,” Feig said. Ghostbusters Director Paul Feig Responds to ‘Misogynistic’ Criticism ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4357714/ghostbusters-director-paul-feig-misogynistic-criticism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4357714/ghostbusters-director-paul-feig-misogynistic-criticism/"},"headline":"Ghostbusters Director Paul Feig Responds to 'Misogynistic' Criticism Over Female-Led Cast","datePublished":"2016-06-05T15:33:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:02:39.765Z","description":"\"I have been hit with some of the worst misogynistic stuff\"","url":"https://time.com/4357714/ghostbusters-director-paul-feig-misogynistic-criticism/","keywords":["motto","movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7eae915fbaa0625f/698896748e0601fe0c4662eb/ghostbusters-women-paul-feig.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7eae915fbaa0625f/698896748e0601fe0c4662eb/ghostbusters-women-paul-feig.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CinemaCon 2016 - An Evening With Sony Pictures Entertainment: Celebrating The Summer Of 2016 And Beyond","caption":"(L-R) Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, 'Ghostbusters' director Paul Feig, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones attend CinemaCon 2016 An Evening with Sony Pictures Entertainment on April 12, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.","creditText":"Todd Williamson—2016 Todd Williamson","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4357714/ghostbusters-director-paul-feig-misogynistic-criticism/","name":"Ghostbusters Director Paul Feig Responds to 'Misogynistic' Criticism Over Female-Led Cast"}}]}] ```