Italian actress Asia Argento was just meant to present the award for best actress at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, but she seized the opportunity to expose even more repulsive behaviour by Harvey Weinstein and call out other sexual predators working in the industry.
“I have a few words to say,” Argento declared.
“In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes. I was 21 years old. The festival was his hunting ground.”
In an impassioned speech at the #CannesFilmFestival, Asia Argento warned members of the audience 'we know who you are' over the abuse of actresses pic.twitter.com/fwok7jO9FK
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 20, 2018
The crowd watched with bated breath as she continued.
“I want to make a prediction. Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes.”
Cannes jury member Ava DuVernay stood by her side in solidarity as Argento went on to call out sexual predators she believed to be still working in the film industry, and issue a warning.
“And even tonight sitting among you there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women. For behaviour that does not belong in this industry ― does not belong in any industry or workplace. You know who you are. But most importantly, we know who you are, and we’re not going to allow you to get away with it any longer,” she said.
https://twitter.com/AsiaArgento/status/997933017443291136
Argento’s powerful, goosebump-inducing words demonstrated, yet again, that women will no longer be silent.
In fact, there were multiple moments of protest at the festival this year.
On the red carpet, eighty-two women stood together on the steps and joined arms to demand gender equality.
Rows of 8-10 women, arms interlinked, are walking red carpet@ #cannes. The announcers call it “an important, powerful image,” noting that “the awareness that has come since H-Day, Harvey Day, as it is called, unfort. a terrible event & the consequences nevertheless can b v impt.” pic.twitter.com/K8Pd0kxUUi
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) May 12, 2018
And Kirsten Stewart removed her shoes on a rain-sodden red carpet in a refreshingly practical protest of the festival’s ridiculous rule that women must wear heels.
"If you’re not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, then you can’t ask me either." – Kristen Stewart, via @glamourmag #AskHerMore #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/OCnhzggoTk
— Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) May 14, 2018
We’re not surprised by Argento’s brave, badass behaviour. She was one of the earliest to share her Weinstein war story in Ronan Farrow’s Pulitzer Prize-wining piece on the predatory producer in The New Yorker last year.
And earlier this year at the Women in the World Summit in New York, Argento said that the #MeToo movement was “the most important thing that has happened to women since the right to vote.”
“And if we stop this conversation, then we’re really doomed,” she added.
“It’s been the one chance I’ve had in my lifetime to advance the whole human species, because the betterment of the position of women in society is the betterment of the whole society, everybody will benefit from it.”
It’s great that Argento capitalised on this moment, with a microphone and captive audience, to continue the conversation.
We hope that every time a women gets on a stage or gets her hands on a microphone, predators start shaking in their boots.