Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem has used the Cannes Film Festival to launch a blistering attack on toxic masculinity, linking it to political leaders including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking at a press conference for his new film The Beloved, Bardem said such behaviour was “creating thousands of dead people”.
The Spanish star, 57, said he came from a “very machista country” where an average of two women are killed monthly by former partners. “We kind of normalised it,” he said. “We are killing women because some men think they own them, they possess them.”
Bardem also criticised the concentration of media ownership, citing the proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers. He warned that populist messages on social networks risked radicalising young people, adding: “At present, there is no democracy in the media.”
On the subject of genocide, Bardem said: “Genocide is a fact. You can fight against it, you can try to justify it, explain it. That is a fact. If you justify it with your silence, or with your support, you are brought genocide.”
