Why people are suddenly hesitant to watch Zendaya’s new movie, ‘The Drama’

When a fake wedding announcement featuring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson popped up in a late-year print issue of The Boston Globe, it looked like a star-studded rom-com was underway. But The Drama, indie studio A24’s latest film, has stirred controversy—and most audiences don’t know what it’s about.

The film’s trailers, the first of which was dropped just a day after that mock announcement, revealed a somewhat vague plotline—Zendaya and Pattinson play Emma and Charlie, a couple grappling with the aftermath of a confession as they prepare for their wedding.

Speculation on the film’s big twist ignited a flurry of conspiracies and theories online, ranging from mere cheating to violent crimes.

“What the fuck did she do that made the whole fucking movie change,” a user commented on the YouTube trailer.

But as more information on the movie’s plot unfolded, controversy followed.

In March—weeks before the film’s April 3 release—gun reform activist Tom Mauser, the father of a victim of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, spoke out against the upcoming movie.

It turns out that Zendaya’s character, Emma, while playing a game in which friends confess to the worst thing they’ve ever done, admits to planning a school shooting but never going through with it—a twist that has left many, like Mauser, concerned over how the film deals with such a delicate subject matter.

“After finding out what Emma’s secret is, I don’t think I’ll watch it. I feel like it’s trying to justify something really bad. Like I personally would break things off if it were my relationship,” a user said on Reddit, reacting to the revelation.

Another user added: “Honestly, I was really excited for this movie, but after finding out about the twist and seeing that one of the Columbine parents condemned it … I don’t know … It feels wrong? I guess that is the point of the movie, but it does make me a bit more hesitant to see it.”

It’s not just Mauser who has spoken out about the film.

“The way this film has been marketed is deeply misaligned with the reality it engages. We expect better from A24 and the artists behind it,” the gun control organization March for Our Lives shared on Instagram. The nonprofit was originally founded by teen survivors of the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida.

And while some online argue the film might serve as a bridge to a necessary conversation around mental health and gun reform, others are still skeptical.

“The reason A24 doesn’t want you to know what Emma did is because there’s a good chance you won’t want to watch ‘The Drama’ at all if you know,” Odie Henderson, the Globe‘s film critic, said in his review.

“Adding insult to injury, the repercussions of Emma’s actions are handled so distastefully, and in such an insensitive manner, that you’ll wonder what the hell the studio was thinking when it based its entire campaign on this repugnant, tasteless surprise,” he added. “I guess there truly is no such thing as bad publicity.”