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*Asia Argento’s emotional speech at the Cannes Film Festival about Harvey Weinstein and rape culture in the film industry made national headlines, but her inability to recall the on-stage support of Ava DuVernay has led to a backlash on Twitter.
It all started when Mia Farrow tweeted to Argento on Sunday that “so many are standing with [her]” after her speech. Argento replied, “I am definitely feeling it more from you all here than I did last night. After my speech, the only person who came up to me, congratulated and spoke kind words to me was Spike Lee.”
On Monday, Argento’s celebrity-chef boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, tweeted, “Thank you Spike Lee for your kindness and thoughtfulness. You stood up when others didn’t.”
A fan replied to Argento’s original tweet asking what DuVernay’s response was, to which Argento wrote, “No response.”
Welp, DuVernay begged to differ.
The filmmaker, who was standing next to Argento when she delivered her address Saturday before presenting the Best Actress award, gently reminded the actress of what actually happened after her speech.
“My response was to put my arm around you and say ‘well done.’ You looked me in my eyes and said ‘thank you.’ It was a warm exchange,” the “Selma” director tweeted, along with a photo of the women onstage together. “I totally understand if you don’t remember the details as it was a big moment and there was a lot of emotion. For the record again, well done. xo.”
Argento immediately replied, “Thank you. In that moment I was in shock.”
My response was to put my arm around you and say “well-done.” You looked me in my eyes and said “thank you.” It was a warm exchange. I totally understand if you don’t remember the details as it was a big moment and there was a lot of emotion. For the record again, well done. xo pic.twitter.com/gz8moPAxrP
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 21, 2018
That was the last of their exchange, at least publicly. But Twitter wasn’t ready to let it go, with many believing that Argento’s response lacked an actual apology.
“Black women can’t win for losing. Asia Argento went full White Feminism on Ava Duvernay,” one user wrote. “Being victimized by a white man and white patriarchal power doesn’t mean you get to lean into white feminine fragility at the expense of black women. No apology? F—k that and f—k her for it.”
“She should have offered a clearer apology to DuVernay … Her saying Ava DuVernay — who has been very vocal about combating sexual predation in Hollywood — gave no response to her speech wasn’t just inaccurate. It was hurtful, even if it was inadvertent,” another tweeted.
Days earlier, DuVernay, a founding organizer of the #MeToo campaign, stood on the steps of the Palais, the festival’s central theater, alongside Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Patty Jenkins, Salma Hayek and other female filmmakers and artists to protest sexism and sexual harassment in the industry.
Watch below:
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