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Cannes Film Festival 2025: Why is French Actor Theo Navarro-Mussy BANNED From This Year? Find Out
French actor Theo Navarro-Mussy has been banned from the red carpet premiere of Dossier 137 following serious allegations. Here’s everything you need to know.
Trigger Warning: The article contains references to ra*pe and sexual assault.
French actor Theo Navarro-Mussy has been banned from attending the red carpet premiere of Dossier 137 at the Cannes Film Festival amid serious accusations of r*pe and s*xual assault. The decision was made jointly by the festival organizers and the film’s producers.
Navarro-Mussy, who plays a supporting role in Dossier 137, will not be present at Thursday night’s screening at the Palais theater. According to French publication Télérama, the actor faces allegations from three former partners, involving r*pe and physical violence in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Producers Caroline Benjo and Carole Scotta of Haut et Court, the company behind the political drama, confirmed that the accusations surfaced prior to the film’s production.
In a statement to Variety, they said, “Even though the alleged facts largely predate the production of the film, we decided with the festival management that the person in question would not accompany the film to Cannes, out of respect for the plaintiffs and for the victims’ word, and without prejudice to the presumption of innocence of the accused.”
They added that the Cannes Film Festival management had made it clear they would not highlight anyone suspected of s*xist or s*xual violence. They also said that these issues were very important to Haut et Court, making the decision an obvious one for them, as well as for director Dominik Moll, whose stance on such matters had always been clear.
According to AFP, this is the first known case of Cannes banning an actor from the festival due to s*xual abuse allegations. The move comes as part of new measures introduced by Cannes leadership to address safety and accountability within the film industry.
Festival chief Thierry Frémaux had earlier told Variety that a new clause was added to this year’s submission rules. It requires all films in the official selection to respect the safety, integrity, and dignity of all contributors and meet legal obligations.
Dossier 137, directed by César Award winner Dominik Moll, is one of the films competing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Set against the backdrop of the yellow vest protests in France, the story follows an investigator named Stéphanie, played by Léa Drucker, who is assigned to find out who is responsible for a young protester being injured by a flash-ball projectile. The film also stars Jonathan Turnbull, Mathilde Roehrich, Guslagie Malanda, and Stanislas Merhar.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is struggling with abuse, please reach out and report about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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