James Cameron stands by his remarks that "Wonder Woman" was a "step backwards."

Last month, he caused a stir by saying, "She's an objectified icon, and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I'm not saying I didn't like the movie but, to me, it's a step backwards."

Now, he's defending his criticism. "I mean, [Gal Gadot] was Miss Israel, and she was wearing a kind of bustier costume that was very form-fitting," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "She's absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. To me, that's not breaking ground. They had Raquel Welch doing stuff like that in the '60s."

Cameron again drew parallels to Linda Hamilton in "Terminator."

"She just wasn't treated as a sex object. There was nothing sexual about her character. It was about angst, it was about will, it was about determination," he said.

"Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins responded to Cameron's initial comments by saying, "If women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we[?]"

Cameron concluded his defense by adding, "As much as I applaud Patty directing the film and Hollywood, uh, 'letting' a woman direct a major action franchise, I didn't think there was anything groundbreaking in 'Wonder Woman.' I thought it was a good film. Period."

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