Actresses storm out of French Oscars after child rapist Roman Polanski wins award
ACTRESSES stormed out of the French Oscars after child rapist Roman Polanski won a gong.
The director, still wanted in the US after being convicted of raping a girl of 13 in 1977, got the prize at the Cesar awards in Paris.
The walkout was led by actress Adele Haenel who shouted “Shame!” The 31-year-old has claimed that she was sexually abused as a child by another director.
Director Celine Sciamma, 41, and several other actresses followed her out of the room.
The protest came after Polanski, 86, won the Best Director prize for An Officer and a Spy.
The Polish-French filmmaker did not attend the ceremony because of protests after his film got 12 nominations.
Later, Haenel said: “Distinguishing Polanski is spitting in the face of all victims. It means raping women isn’t that bad.”
Actress and comedian Florence Foresti, 46, refused to return to the stage after Polanski’s win.
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She posted a black screen on Instagram with the word “disgusted.”
Before the ceremony, France’s Culture Minister Franck Riester said it would be “symbolically bad” if Polanski won “given the stance we must take against sexual and sexist violence.”
The director fled the US after his conviction and has since faced a string of sex assault claims. Last year a French woman claimed Polanski raped her in 1975.
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