French film icon Catherine Deneuve has joined 99 other women to denounce a backlash against men following the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Rollo Ross reports. Video provided by Reuters Newslook
Those sexy French are not pleased about the #MeToo crusade.
Some 100 French cultural figures, including France's most revered movie star, Catherine Deneuve, have signed an open letter in Le Monde decrying a "new puritanism" and the tide of “denunciations” that have brought down scores of men following the sex-scandal revelations about American movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
The letter, signed by writers, entertainers, historians, journalists, curators, academics and intellectuals, was published Tuesday under the headline, in French, "we defend freedom to importune, indispensable to sexual freedom."
In essence, that means men should be free to hit on others as part of the ancient human seduction dance — especially valued by the French.
But since the Weinstein scandal broke in October, with blockbuster investigations of the mogul's alleged sexual predations against more than 80 women dating back decades, the result has been catastrophe, at least according to French stars such as Deneuve, 74.
The letter argues that daily revelations of alleged sexual misconduct by men in multiple industries amounts to a "witch-hunt" that threatens sexual freedom and promotes "hatred of men."
“Rape is a crime. But trying to seduce someone, even persistently or maladroitly, is not – nor is gallantry macho aggression,” opened the letter, translated by The Guardian. “Men have been punished summarily, forced out of their jobs when all they did was touch someone’s knee or try to steal a kiss."
The letter attacked the #MeToo social-media campaign and its French equivalent, #BalanceTonPorc (Call out your pig), for unleashing this “puritanical ... wave of purification."
"What began as freeing women up to speak has today turned into the opposite – we intimidate people into speaking 'correctly,' shout down those who don't fall into line, and those women who refused to bend (to the new realities) are regarded as complicit and traitors," the letter argues, adding that men should be "free to hit on" women.
"This frenzy" only helps the enemies of sexual liberty: "religious extremists and the worst sort of reactionaries,” the letter lamented.
Among the signatories of the letter were esteemed writer Catherine Millet, 69, author of the explicit 2002 bestseller The Sexual Life of Catherine M, and German film actress/singer Ingrid Caven, 79.
Deneuve attacked the #MeToo shame campaign last year.
“I don’t think it is the right method to change things, it is excessive,” she said, according to The Guardian. “After ‘calling out your pig’ what are we going to have, ‘call our your whore’?”
