WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Universal Pictures will not release violent satire 'The Hunt' after the movie evoked the ire of President Donald Trump.
The dual mass shootings also apparently prompted the distributor to cancel the movie, which tells the story of liberals hunting Trump supporters for sport.
'While universal pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for the hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film', Universal Pictures said in a statement published on the film's website.
'We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film,' the statement added, hinting that they still plan to distribute it at a later date.
'The Hunt', featuring the divided nature of U.S. politics, was scheduled for release on September 27.
Universal had already withheld the Hunt's marketing after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton earlier this month killed 31 people and injured dozens of others, one of which was propagated by a white supremacist.
On Friday, Trump strongly criticized The Hunt without mentioning the film's name. In a Twitter post, Trump called the Liberal Hollywood 'Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate.'
'They like to call themselves 'Elite,' but they are not Elite. In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite,' Trump said in apparent reference to 'globalist elites' killing people for sport.
'The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos,' in the opinion of Trump. He blamed the producers by saying, 'They create their own violence and then try to blame others.' 'They are the true racists and are very bad for our country,' according to him.
'The violent, R-rated film from producer Jason Blum's Blumhouse [production company] follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals,' The Hollywood Reporter said about the film.
Universal has also pulled its official YouTube links of the movie's trailer.
Earlier, ESPN had removed a trailer for the movie, featuring Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank and Emma Roberts.
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