In the wake of recent allegations of sexism and sexual violence in the French cinema industry, actress Anny Duperey has voiced her opinion on the matter. These allegations came to light after actress Judith Godrèche filed complaints against directors Jacques Doillon and Benoît Jacquot.
Speaking on RTL, Duperey expressed her belief that the situation has been blown out of proportion. She questioned whether Godrèche, who was in a relationship with a director for six years, could really have been completely without consent, despite the power imbalance.
This comment was a direct response to Godrèche’s allegations against Benoît Jacquot. Godrèche alleged that Jacquot had a significant amount of control over her when she was a teenager. Their relationship began when she was only 14, and he was 25 years her senior. Other actresses have since come forward with similar allegations of psychological and physical abuse against the director and screenwriter.
Duperey further expressed her discomfort with what she termed “late witch hunts”, indicating her skepticism about the timing of these allegations.
Duperey, who is also a novelist and photographer, called for a nuanced perspective, arguing for the separation of the artist from their personal actions. She asserted that while some men might indeed have been predators, they may have also created beautiful works, and she would not want to see their art condemned alongside their personal actions.
She used the example of Roman Polanski to illustrate her point, arguing that it would be foolish to condemn his films because of his past actions. She stated that it would not be right to condemn his critically acclaimed film “The Pianist” just because of his personal actions, pointing out the confusion in conflating the two.
