Avatar director James Cameron is in hot water with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins after he made odd remarks about her hit DC film.

In an interview with The Guardian this week, Cameron said that the excitement around Wonder Woman was overblown, and that Hollywood is lacking great films with powerful women.

“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided,” he said. “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.”

“Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon,” he said, referring to the Terminator character. “She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”

Cameron was also mystified when asked why there aren’t any good movies with “truly powerful” women. “I don’t — I don’t know. There are many women in power in Hollywood and they do get to guide and shape what films get made. I think — no, I can’t account for it. Because how many times do I have to demonstrate the same thing over again? I feel like I’m shouting in a wind tunnel!”

Patty Jenkins’ response

On Twitter Thursday night, Jenkins offered a great response on Twitter:

James Cameron’s inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is as unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman. Strong women are great. His praise of my film Monster, and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated. But 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. I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be. There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely choose and judge their own icons of progress.

Patty Jenkins will direct Wonder Woman 2, which is slated to hit theaters December 13, 2019.