CANNES CONTROVERSY #FLATGATE
And we’re back with a more from the 68th Cannes Film Festival that’s going on its eighth day today. Cannes has been synonymous for controversy since forever. Whether it was Palme D’or winner Dolce Vita upsetting the Catholic Church back in the sixties to Lars Von Trier declaring ‘I am a Nazi’, Paris Hilton getting kicked off a yacht for having bathroom sex and dozens of crazy publicity stunts in between – remember Sacha Baron Cohen’s mankini? This year started fairly calm until flatgate came along.
Days before the festival had even started festival director Thierry Fremaux announced a strict no-selfie rule on the red carpet forbidding guests the vulgar act of photographing themselves entering the Palais des Festival. A few days later it turns out there’s another strict red carpet rule being enforced, that being a no-flats policy for women. A group of ladies in their 50’s were the first ones to protest the rule after being denied access to the premiere of Carol because of missing high heels. The incident soon gave life to hashtag flatgate where more women spoke up who had encountered the same problem.
Emily Blunt chipped in on the discussion during a press conference calling the move ‘very disappointing’. “Everyone should wear flats to be honest,” the Sicario-actress said. “We shouldn’t be wearing high heels anyways. That’s my point of view. I just prefer wearing Converse sneakers.”
Today flatgate seems to reach a new high point (or low point if you will) after Valerie Richter a Danish film producer with an amputated foot reported she was stopped from stepping on the red carpet for the same reason. The Cannes Film Festival has yet to respond to all the turmoil.
