Film star apologises to sex abuse victims after damning letter

Film star Catherine Deneuve has apologised to victims of “odious” acts of sexual abuse after she signed a much-criticised letter saying men are being unfairly accused of sexual misconduct.

The letter, signed by 100 French women, said the wave of accusations against powerful men since the Harvey Weinstein scandal had gone too far.

The letter, which said men should be “free to hit on” women, prompted a backlash in France and beyond. Some activists said the intervention had trivialised sexual violence.

The letter signed by French women writers, performers and academics had been published by Le Monde newspaper on Tuesday last week.

In the letter, the signatories said: “Men have been punished summarily, forced out of their jobs when all they did was touch someone’s knee or try to steal a kiss.

“Rape is a crime, but trying to seduce someone, even persistently or clumsily, is not – and nor is men being gentlemanly a chauvinist attack.”

In response, Ms Deneuve wrote a letter published on Sunday by daily Liberation apologising to abuse victims.

However, she also defended her view that men are becoming victims of a “media lynching” and the atmosphere threatens sexual freedom.

But she denounced abuse of power and called for better justice against proven abusers.

Ms Deneuve also defended her feminist credentials, noting that she publicly backed legalising abortion in France.

“I fraternally salute all the victims of these hideous acts who might have felt assaulted by the letter published in Le Monde,” she wrote.

“It is to them and them alone that I offer my apologies.” Ms Deneuve said there was “nothing in the letter” to Le Monde that said “anything good about harassment, otherwise I wouldn’t have signed it”.

The French actress is best known for her portrayal of aloof, mysterious beauties for various directors, including Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut and Roman Polanski.

She is a two-time César Award winner and a 14-time nominee.

Ms Deneuve is by far the most prominent of the signatories of the original letter.

The other 99 women who signed the document include some well-known figures, such as actress Christine Boisson, journalist Élisabeth Lévy and Brigitte Lahaie – a 1970s porn star who is now a talkshow host. Most of the signatories were professionals not known to the French public.

Mr Weinstein had denied all allegations of non-consensual sex, but admitted his behaviour has “caused a lot of pain”.