By Miranda Murray and Juliette Jabkhiro
CANNES, France (Reuters) -The Cannes Film Festival has banned French actor Theo Navarro-Mussy from appearing on the red carpet for Thursday’s premiere of French competition film “Case 137” due to sexual assault allegations against him.
Festival director Thierry Fremaux told Telerama magazine on Wednesday that he had decided, along with the film’s producers, to exclude the actor because the courts had not issued a final ruling in the case.
A joint complaint by three former partners accusing Navarro-Mussy of rape was dismissed by prosecutors last month for lack of sufficient evidence, according to his lawyer. The complainants, also actors, plan to file a new complaint, Telerama reported.
Navarro-Mussy’s lawyer, Marion Pouzet-Gagliardi, told Reuters that to date, there was no indication that any proceedings would continue, and that no new complaint had been formally recorded yet.
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A festival spokesperson referred Reuters to Fremaux’s Telerama interview when asked to confirm the red carpet ban, which is believed to be the first of its kind.
Navarro-Mussy has a small role in the detective drama directed by Dominik Moll.
The festival’s director told Telerama that he was also waiting to find out more about a report concerning another film personality that had recently come to his attention.
Beginning this year, Cannes requires producers to guarantee that films submitted respect the safety, integrity and dignity of all contributors.
The festival has faced criticism in the past for not doing more to embrace the #MeToo movement that has exposed men accused of sexual harassment in fields including entertainment, politics and business.
Fremaux’s decision comes in the same week that actor Gerard Depardieu was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in the highest-profile #MeToo case to come before judges in France.
Depardieu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer said he would appeal the court’s decision.
(Reporting by Miranda Murray and Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Toby Chopra)
