‘Everyone should wear flats’: Emily Blunt on Cannes’ rumored high-heels-only policy
Emily Blunt speaks out against the Cannes Film Festivals alleged mandate for high-heels.
If she could, Emily Blunt would wear Converse sneakers on the ceremonious walk up the Cannes Film Festival’s posh red carpet.
The “Into the Woods” star is just one of many to speak out against the glitzy film festival’s alleged high-heels mandate for those making the march up the Palais des Festivals stairs, which is seen as the latest sexist misstep to come out of this year’s famously formal gathering.
Blunt addressed Tuesday’s reported ban on women’s flat shoes on the red carpet while speaking during a press conference for her film “Sicario,” calling the move “very disappointing.”
“Everyone should wear flats to be honest,” Blunt said (via Variety). “We shouldn’t be wearing high heels anyways. That’s my point of view. I just prefer wearing Converse sneakers. That’s very disappointing.”
“Sicario” director Denis Villenueve agreed.
“As a sign of protest, Benicio [del Toro], Josh [Brolin] and I will walk the stairs in high heels tonight,” he said — perhaps joking, perhaps not, about the show of solidarity.
The controversy was cobbled together Tuesday when Screen Daily reported that red-carpet security had put its foot down regarding appropriate footwear, turning away women who were wearing fancy flats instead of high heels.
“[In] a bad PR move for the push for gender equality, a handful of women in their 50’s were turned away from the screening of Todd Haynes’ competition entry Carol [the film’s feminist appeal further ironising the shut-out] on Sunday night after being told the height of their smart footwear didn’t pass muster.Multiple guests, some older with medical conditions, were denied access to the anticipated world-premiere screening for wearing rhinestone flats.
The Hollywood Reporter dubbed the fracas “Flatgate” and corroborated reports that numerous women had been barred from gala screenings because of their footwear choices. This comes on the heels of “Carol” star Rooney Mara tripping on the red carpet on Sunday night.
Other festival-goers wearing practical shoes reportedly said they received similar treatment, and Screen Daily said that the glitzy festival confirmed that “it is obligatory for all women to wear high-heels to red-carpet screenings.”
However, festival director Thierry Fremaux took to Twitter to debunk the report, calling rumors of the shoe shut-down “unfounded.” The official Cannes account retweeted the conversation.
Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
