Cate Blanchett, the acclaimed Australian actor, has expressed disappointment that the #MeToo movement "got killed very quickly" in Hollywood. Speaking at the Cannes film festival on Sunday, Blanchett lamented the rapid decline of the movement's momentum, which she had long championed for gender equality.
Blanchett's Remarks on #MeToo
During a staged conversation at the festival, Blanchett reflected on the movement's trajectory. "It got killed very quickly, which I think is interesting," she said. "There are a lot of people with platforms who are able to speak up with relative safety and say this has happened to me. And the so-called average woman on the street, person on the street, is saying me too. Why does that get shut down?"
Gender Imbalance on Film Sets
Blanchett, who has been outspoken about gender inequality, noted that the situation on film sets remains stark. "I'm still on film sets and I do the headcount every day. There's 10 women and there's 75 men every morning," she said. While she expressed appreciation for men, she highlighted the homogeneity of the workplace: "I love men, but what happens is the jokes become the same. You just have to brace yourself slightly, and I'm used to that, but it just gets boring for everybody when you walk into a homogeneous workplace. I think it has an effect on the work."
Historical Context: Cannes Protest
In 2018, when Blanchett served as president of the Cannes jury, she participated in a red-carpet protest alongside 81 other women. The group represented the total number of female directors selected for the Cannes competition lineup, compared to 1,866 male directors over the same period. That year, Cannes faced criticism for including only three films directed by women in its 21-film official selection. Blanchett defended the festival at the time, stating that change "was not going to happen overnight."
Julianne Moore's Perspective
Julianne Moore also addressed gender disparity at Cannes over the weekend, noting some improvement. During a Kering Women in Motion talk on Saturday, Moore recalled being one of two women on a set around 2016. "I can remember being on a set not too long ago where the only women were me and the third AC [assistant camera]," she said. "It's when Hillary Clinton lost the election, and we were both devastated. And I said 'Look around the room. We're the only ones here.' I've certainly seen more gender representation in crews. It was unusual, when I was coming up, to see women on a crew."
Blanchett's Upcoming Project
On Sunday, Blanchett also revealed that she will star in director Brady Corbet's next film, an "X-rated" feature set in the 1970s, alongside Selena Gomez and Michael Fassbender. Corbet is known for The Brutalist.
This report includes contributions from the Associated Press.
