After controversial comments on the CNews set comparing changing a woman to replacing a refrigerator or a car, Claude Lelouch took the floor to apologize.
“Married women should thank their mistresses.” Claude Lelouch created unease on the CNews set on Wednesday November 13 while he spoke about his vision of the couple and fidelity in front of Pascal Praud. The 87-year-old director, who has just released his latest film Eventuallythus estimated that “very often, when we go elsewhere, we are happy to come home”.
Worse still, he did not fail to compare a woman to several objects: “When I say that we are faithful until we find something better, it is true whether it is for a car, a woman, a fridge, anything…” These words absolutely did not get through and the filmmaker found himself under fire from criticism on social networks and from viewers, who considered these statements sexist.
Remember that these comments come at a time when French cinema has been shaken for several years by a #MeToo wave, attempting, thanks to the words of several personalities in the sector, to question its functioning and its institutions.
“My inappropriate and clumsy comments hurt”
This Friday, November 15, faced with the controversy, Claude Lelouch took the floor to apologize. In a message published on Indeed, he mentioned on the CNews set his relationship with Valérie Perrin, ensuring that he had “full admiration for this woman, and this admiration is love”.
But that was not enough to attenuate his comments on fidelity and the comparison he made about women. This is why, on X, he assured that “tout [sa] life, [il a] repeated that women were successful men”. Then to regret the fact that we only remember from his speech the remarks cited above, “taken out of context and repeated everywhere”.
“This saddens me deeply. I have always respected women, those to whom I have dedicated 51 films, and even more so in my last one. My inappropriate and clumsy comments have hurt, I ask your forgiveness.”