Sound Of Freedom: All Updates & Controversies Since It Released – Screen Rant

Summary

Sound of Freedom premiered in July 2023 and was a surprise hit at the box office. But in the months following its release, the movie, the people behind the making of it, and its inspiration have been at the center of numerous controversies. The 2023 Angel Studios crime thriller film is based on Tim Ballard's work to combat sex trafficking and revolves around one of his missions to save a girl from a trafficking ring in Columbia. However, the truth behind the movie (and Ballard's accounts of his missions) has been questioned by many after its premiere.

The cast of Sound of Freedom featured Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, Mira Sorvino as Katherine Ballard, Bill Camp as Vampiro, Eduardo Verstegui as Paulo Delgado, Javier Godino as Jorge, Jos Ziga as Roberto Aguilar, Kurt Fuller as Frost, Gary Basaraba as Earl Buchanan, and Gerardo Taracena as El Alacrn. They came together to adapt Ballard's tale for the big screen with a script written by Alejandro Monteverde (also the director) and Rod Barr. Despite its shocking success (the movie grossed $250.3 million against a $14.5 million budget), there is much debate concerning the story's validity, especially since Ballard and others have been accused of several controversial actions.

Shortly after the release of Sound of Freedom on July 4, 2023, Operation Underground Railroad the Utah-based anti-sex trafficking organization that Tim Ballard founded in 2013 announced that Ballard had left the nonprofit in June 2023. He was the CEO, and given his recent increase in publicity due to the film about his life, it was surprising to learn that Ballard was no longer attached to Operation Underground Railroad. However, in the weeks following the news about his disassociation with the organization, it became clear why Ballard parted ways with the nonprofit (which has also been at the center of controversy regarding its methods, funding, and alleged false claims).

According to Vice, Operation Underground Railroad performed an investigation into sexual misconduct claims from seven women within the organization concerning Ballard's behavior. Following the investigation, Ballard resigned, and Operation Underground Railroad released a statement that read:

"O.U.R. is dedicated to combatting sexual abuse, and does not tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination by anyone in its organization. O.U.R. retained an independent law firm to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all relevant allegations, and O.U.R. continues to assess and improve the governance of the organization and protocols for its operations."

As mentioned above, some experts allege that Sound of Freedom is primarily a work of fiction rather than a true tale of Tim Ballard's mission to save children from sex trafficking in Columbia. They claimed that the 2023 crime thriller's depiction of child sex trafficking and how the government combats it was inaccurate. These statements led to others revisiting investigations into Operation Underground Railroad and how truthful the organization had been when reporting figures concerning how many people its members had saved from sex trafficking. Plus, the nonprofit has been criticized for its methods. As a result, the truthfulness behind the movie has been widely debated.

In the months following the release of Sound of Freedom, NBC News reported that Tim Ballard was "very seriously considering" running for a vacant United States Senate seat in 2024. Mitt Romney, the junior Senator from Utah, previously announced that he would not run for reelection and would retire following the conclusion of his current term in 2025. So, Ballard was interested in running for Romney's Utah seat, but that might change due to recent events.

After the sexual misconduct allegations concerning Tim Ballard's behavior within Operation Underground Railroad became public, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excommunicated him. It also didn't help that Ballard had previously claimed that M. Russell Ballard, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Mormon Church until his death in November 2023, approved of his work with his nonprofit. The Church released a personal rebuke of Ballard that stated:

"[We] never endorsed, supported or represented OUR, Tim Ballard or any projects associated with them. Once it became clear Tim Ballard had betrayed their friendship, through the unauthorized use of President Ballard's name for Tim Ballard's personal advantage and activity regarded as morally unacceptable, President Ballard withdrew his association."

In October 2023, five anonymous women filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Tim Ballard that alleged the former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad had manipulated and abused them during undercover missions. The lawsuit also claims that the higher-ups at Operation Underground Railroad were aware of the misconduct and did nothing about it. Quickly after the lawsuit became public, a sixth woman came forward and filed her own lawsuit. The Slate article goes into more detail concerning the troubling allegations, but most of them revolve around Ballard taking advantage of women while they were undercover as sex trafficking victims.

Tim Ballard wasn't the only figure associated with Sound of Freedom who has been the subject of sexual misconduct investigations Paul Hutchinson, a producer and Operation Underground Railroad employee, was caught on camera groping the breasts of an underage girl during a mission in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to Newsweek. Hutchinson claimed that the sex trafficking victim was over 18 years old at the time, but the FBI's investigation report suggests otherwise. Nevertheless, Mexican authorities did not press charges against Hutchinson.

Fabian Marta, one of the patrons who donated to Sound of Freedom, was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, and charged with accessory to child kidnapping a few weeks after the 2023 film's premiere. A few months following his arrest, though, the Missouri Circuit Court dropped the charges and released a statement that revealed there was no sufficient evidence to prove Marta was guilty. Despite his release, the arrest certainly didn't quiet the controversies surrounding the movie.

Following the release of the 2023 crime thriller, Eduardo Verstegui, the executive producer and star of the film, announced he had filed the paperwork to run as an independent candidate for the upcoming presidential race in Mexico. Verstegui played Paulo Delgado, a wealthy man who funded Ballard's mission in the movie, and now he wants to be the President of Mexico. However, he has not been immune to the controversies surrounding Sound of Freedom. Verstegui previously posted a video on social media that seemingly threatened the LGBTQ+ community and climate change activists, which led to much criticism.

Sound of Freedom is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Source: Vice, NBC News, Slate, Newsweek

Continued here:

Sound Of Freedom: All Updates & Controversies Since It Released - Screen Rant