Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Scandal

A movie PR company reportedly paid reviewers to give its film better scores, boosting their performance on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.

According to a report by Vulture, in 2018 Bunker 15 reportedly manipulated reviewers to give positive reviews of indie film Ophelia. This reimagined Shakespeare tale starring Daisy Ridley originally got an underwhelming score of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Bunker 15 reached out to lesser-known critics and allegedly paid them to review the film. Ophelia’s Rotten Tomatoes score then rose from 40% to 62%.

However, Rotten Tomatoes noticed the infraction and quickly removed the reviews in question, issuing the following statement: “We take the integrity of our scores seriously and do not tolerate any attempts to manipulate them. We have a dedicated team who monitors our platforms regularly and thoroughly investigates and resolves any suspicious activity.”

Rotten Tomatoes continues to have a huge impact on the film and TV industry. People look to its aggregate score for guidance, as well as for a barometer of quality. Despite the website’s stark warning to people who try and game the system, incidents like this erode readers’ trust.

In other movie and TV controversy, did you know Aaron Paul earns $0 for Breaking Bad?