Singer Jewel defends Sound of Freedom from criticism

Singer Jewel posted a video on Twitter asking her fans to go see the movie Sound of Freedom. She spoke highly of the movie, which denounces the trafficking of minors between the United States and Latin America from the point of view of Tim Ballard, a former CIA agent.

In her message, Jewel condemned several media outlets for attacking the movie and its cast. Some media outlets have and other far-right conspiracy groups.

The singer posted her video in response to Elon Musk, who recommended last month that the movie be streamed on Twitter. "It saddens me that some media are trying to politicize this film. It's not about left or right. It's about millions of kids being trafficked and no matter what your faith or creed, we need to protect all vulnerable kids instead of fighting over philosophical differences," said Jewel.

In a CNN interview last week, writer Mike Rothschild questioned the intent behind the movie. "These films are created out of moral panics. They are created out of bogus statistics. They are created out of fear. And with something like Sound of Freedom, he is specifically looking at QAnon's concepts of these child trafficking networks that are run by high-level elites," Rothschild said in his remarks.

Due to the recent attacks, Tim Ballard, the man the movie is based on, stepped forward to defend Sound of Freedom. Ballard called the criticism "a little sickening." The former CIA agent said he was surprised that some people suggested the movie had ties to QAnon, especially one that tells the story of child suffering.

Success at the box office

Sound of Freedom has been a hit at the box office, despite its meager budget of only $14 million. In its premiere, it outperformed Disney's blockbuster Indiana Jones at the box office. Starring actor Jim Caveziel uploaded a video to social media celebrating that the movie had sold more than two million tickets in just under a week. Alejandro Gómez Monteverde's move has already grossed $45.6 million.