By Eili Cordova
Eight years after leading a historic women’s march at the Cannes Film Competition, the two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett returned to the red carpet with a message: ethe #MeToo movementwhich once promised to transform the industry, was silenced before achieving an accurate change.
It was on May 17, 2026, during a conversation with Didier Allouch at the annual edition of the festival, where Blanchett reflected on what she perceives as an abrupt end to the social movement which gained momentum in 2017 following the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
“There are a lot of people with platforms who can speak with relative confidence and say: ‘This has happened to me,’ and the so-called average woman on the street says: ‘Me too.’ Why is that silenced?” questioned the actress, as reported by Differ. And he added:
“What the movement revealed is a systemic layer of abuse, not just in this industry, but in all, and if a problem is not identified, it cannot be solved”
Blanchett’s return to Cannes cannot be understood without remembering her starring role in 2018, the first festival after the explosion of the Weinstein case.
Credit: AP Listing/John Locher.
The movement in Cannes
At the time, as president of the jury, she led a protest alongside Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay and seventy 9 other women of cinema. They climbed the stairs of the Festival Palace to denounce gender inequality, pointing out that in the history of the festival, 1,866 male directors had participated compared to only 82 women.
At the time, Blanchett declared: “We expect our institutions to promote parity and transparency in their executive bodies and provide safe work environments. We expect our governments to ensure compliance with equal pay for equal work laws. We demand that our workplaces be diverse and equitable to best reflect the world we live in.”
And he concluded that speech with a phrase that resonated strongly: “The ladders of our industry must be accessible to everyone. Let’s keep going!”
However, eight years later, Blanchett laments the lack of real progress. “I continue working in film studios and I count private every day; Every morning there are 10 women and 75 men“, as Differ reported.
Continue reading:
· Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett lead campaign against the use of AI
Cate Blanchett reveals she plans to retire from acting soon
· Cate Blanchett enjoys Milan with her children
