--- description: Director Paul Feig called complaints about Ghostbusters "misogynistic," and now he's fighting back against more sexism toward the movie. title: Ghostbusters Director Says 'Chick Flick' Is a 'Derogatory' Term image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55c32151657d4868/698898f70b72e3f0f66e9e74/ghostbusters-cast-paul-feig-misogyny-e1467153902928.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ghostbusters Director Says 'Chick Flick' Is a 'Derogatory' Term by [Megan Lasher](/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2016 5:57 PM CUT  Actresses Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and 'Ghostbusters' director Paul Feig attend CinemaCon 2016 Actresses Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and 'Ghostbusters' director Paul Feig attend CinemaCon 2016Todd Williamson—Getty Images for CinemaCon by [Megan Lasher](/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2016 5:57 PM CUT The new _Ghostbusters_ movie was met with [criticism before it was even released](http://motto.time.com/4314767/ghostbusters-trailer-negative-comments/ "undefined"), but the cast and crew aren’t having it. Director Paul Feig called complaints about the female-heavy casting [“misogynistic,”](http://motto.time.com/4357714/ghostbusters-director-paul-feig-misogynistic-criticism/ "undefined") and now he’s fighting back against more sexism toward the movie. “The whole ‘chick-flick’ idea is an excuse for guys not to have to see something,” Feig said in an [interview with the New York _Times._](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/movies/whos-afraid-of-female-ghostbusters.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") _“_It’s what I consider to be a derogatory title. I try with my movies to go: Look how funny these people are.” The film’s female stars, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, are all well-known actresses and comics—three of them have been regular cast members on _Saturday Night Live._ Yet as with _Bridesmaids_ and what feels like all other female-driven films, the criticism seems relentless. “I’m surprised, because women have been killing it for years,” Jones told the New York _Times._ “It’s the same thing, when you go to a comedy club. \[announcer’s voice\] ‘Are you guys ready for a woman?’ Are you ready for a unicorn? Why is being a woman so surprising? There are two sexes. A man and a woman. So, if it’s not a man in a movie, what else was it going to be?” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4378542/ghostbusters-chick-flick-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4378542/ghostbusters-chick-flick-interview/"},"headline":"Ghostbusters Director Says 'Chick Flick' Is a 'Derogatory' Term","datePublished":"2016-06-22T17:57:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:02:47.333Z","description":"Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon discussed the 'surprising' reaction to Ghostbusters","url":"https://time.com/4378542/ghostbusters-chick-flick-interview/","keywords":["motto","movies","celebrities","News"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55c32151657d4868/698898f70b72e3f0f66e9e74/ghostbusters-cast-paul-feig-misogyny-e1467153902928.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55c32151657d4868/698898f70b72e3f0f66e9e74/ghostbusters-cast-paul-feig-misogyny-e1467153902928.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":"Actresses Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and 'Ghostbusters' director Paul Feig attend CinemaCon 2016 An Evening with Sony Pictures Entertainment: Celebrating the Summer of 2016 and Beyond at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace du","creditText":"Todd Williamson—Getty Images for CinemaCon","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/4378542/ghostbusters-chick-flick-interview/","name":"Ghostbusters Director Says 'Chick Flick' Is a 'Derogatory' Term"}}]}] ```