ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Catherine Deneuve Denounces #MeToo And Thinks Men Have A ‘Right To Hit On’ Women

Catherine Deneuve Denounces #MeToo And Thinks Men Have A ‘Right To Hit On’ Women

After the Golden Globes were dominated by strong statements from powerful women, some French people have come forward in disagreement.

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

After the Golden Globes were dominated by strong statements from powerful women some French people have come forward in disagreement with the #MeToo movement.

It's been a big week for equality and diversity in Hollywood.

At the Golden Globes on Sunday night, the stars publicly denounced the perpetrators of sexual abuse in the industry and several of the biggest stars in world film took activists onto the red carpet with them to raise awareness of their 'Time's Up' campaign.

There was also a lot of public coverage for the #MeToo movement and Oprah gave an inspiring speech about race and gender that has led to calls for her to run for the presidency.

PA. Oprah Winfrey, recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award, poses during NBC's

Not everyone in the business agrees, though.

One hundred French women writers, academics, and performers have signed an open letter published in French newspaper Le Monde yesterday.

Amongst the signatories is Academy Award nominee Catherine Deneuve.

The letter argues that there is a "new puritanism" in the world and that whilst it is necessary to speak out against the abuse of power in cases such as that of Harvey Weinstein - who stands accused of rape - the wave of allegations has become out of control.

It states: "Rape is a crime. But trying to seduce someone, even persistently or clumsily, is not - and nor is men being gentlemanly a chauvinist attack.

"[Men], who are sanctioned in their work, [are] pushed to resign, etc., when their only wrongdoing was to touch a knee, try to steal a kiss, speak about intimate things during a professional dinner or send messages that are sexually loaded to a woman who wasn't attracted to them.

"As women we do not recognise ourselves in this feminism, which beyond denouncing the abuse of power, takes on a hatred of men and of sexuality,"

Deneuve is the most prominent of the signatories, having become famous worldwide in the 1960s for a string of critically-acclaimed performances. She is best known for playing the title role in 1967's Belle de Jour.

Her comments have attracted criticism from many observers, including Italian actress Asia Argento. Argento is one of the women to come forward accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.

She tweeted: "Catherine Deneuve and other French women tell the world how their interiorized misogyny has lobotomized them to the point of no return"

Whilst Deneuve is the highest profile signature on the open letter it was also signed by actress Christine Boisson, talk-show host Brigitte Lahaie, and magazine editor Catherine Millet. The vast majority of signatories are unknown to the French public.

Twitter users in France have been encouraging women to come forward to name their attackers using the hashtag #balancetonporc which roughly translates as 'call out your pig'.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, Celebrity, US News