Busting Gender Norms: The Stars of the Ghostbusters Remake Inspire on Red Carpet

“The All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Was Surprisingly Great”

If I squint really hard, I can find the compliment in that headline, but it highlights the surrounding controversy of the Ghostbusters remake perfectly.

Since its inception last year, and subsequent trailers were released, the new Ghostbusters has been met with unrelenting backlash.

Mind you, this is before the movie had even been released.

The Problem?

Not the plot-line or acting, but the seemingly irrelevant fact that the leads of the beloved classic were going to be all female.

Kate MacKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Leslie Jones were slated to put on the iconic khaki ghostbusting outfits and people (internet trolls) lost their sh*t.

However, this past Saturday at the premiere those with anything negative to say were eating their words.

These four women showed up looking fierce as h*** and inspiring young women up and down the red carpet.

In one particularly heart-warming photo, two young female dancers from the premiere are captured meeting Kristen Wiig, and their looks of sheer admiration say it all.

What an amazing thing to see two young girls idolizing Hollywood actresses for their wit and humor rather than outfits or boyfriends.

Comedian Zach Heltzel was quick to pick up the photo and use some needed sarcasm to defend his fellow funny people against the dramatically nostalgic haters.

Look at these childhoods that have been ruined! pic.twitter.com/DBUX0swyvS

— Zach Heltzel (@zachheltzel) July 11, 2016

The “ruined childhood” whine seemed to be a common thread in criticism, to which Wiig retorted, “They need to probably go to therapy,” and McCarthy continued with, “I think their childhood was pretty much ruined already. If this broke it, it was pretty fragile to begin with… Normal, healthy people don’t stand outside, saying, ‘You’re ruining my childhood!”

Director Paul Feig explained his casting decision simply, “I just wanted to make the funniest movie I could and I work with the funniest women on the planet,” he said.

In a week filled with a resurgence of the girl power mentality, the female cast of Ghostbusters are continuing to showcase the awesomeness that is women in the lead.

Christian Siriano, the designer of Leslie Jones’s show stopping red gown, best summed up the importance of the all-female cast with his response to body-shamers.

After creating Jones’s dress when no other designer would outfit the comedian due to her bigger build, Siriano said, “It shouldn’t be exceptional to work with brilliant people just because they’re not sample size,” he tweeted. “Congrats aren’t in order, a change is.”