Adèle Haenel Calls Out French Film Industry for Protecting ‘Sexual Aggressors’: They’ll ‘Do Anything to Defend Their Rapist Chiefs’
variety.comElsa Keslassy International Correspondent Adèle Haenel, the French star of Cannes prize-winning film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” vanished from the film world in the aftermath of the 2020 Cesar Awards ceremony.
That year, Roman Polanski won best director and Haenel, who was on the ground for her nomination with “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” walked out of the ceremony in a burst of anger upon hearing Polanski’s name, shouting “Bravo pedophilia!” Several months prior, Haenel had accused French director Christophe Ruggia of having sexually harassed her for years starting when she was just 12 years old, prompting the birth of France’s #MeToo movement.
Since then, Haenel exited the movie biz to dedicate herself to political activism, as well as theater and dance with the artist Gisèle Vienne.
She recently appeared on French TV to support the strike and protest against the country’s unpopular pension reform. While some hoped she would eventually return to acting after being briefly attached to Bruno Dumont’s next film “The Empire,” Haenel denounced the local industry’s complacency toward sexual aggressors and, in an open letter published in Liberation newspaper, explained that her decision to retire was a political act.
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