Ava Duvernay Addresses Hollywood Sexual Assault Problem During Britannia Awards
Ava Duvernay used her acceptance speech during the AMD British Academy Britannia Awards to call out Hollywood's sexual assault problem. This is after shocking revelations involving disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein were brought to light.
Duvernay called the abuse of actors "an abuse of a very singular kind" while accepting the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing. According to her, actors give their minds and bodies to filmmakers, and to prey on that is unacceptable.
"I regard the bond between a director and an actor as sacred. Because if we do it right, we're in a union, a creative marriage, creating life together," DuVernay said. "So to imagine what's been in the news this week, the harmful manipulation and harassment and emotional violence towards actors in my view is sinful. Sinful because I've held the innermost feelings of an actor in my hand."
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Duvernay ended her speech saying that they don't have time to work on these dark behaviors, these "isms" one by one and that they should be outraged by all of them. Until everyone is safe, no one is safe.
Industry figures also reflected on the recent scandal during the awards which took place Friday night.
"The very strange thing about this scandal is how secret it is," said "The Crown" star John Lithgow who presented the award for British Artist of the Year to his co-star, Claire Foy. "All of these shameful episodes happened between two people behind closed doors and that's why it was able to be kept such a secret or merely a rumor for 30 years."
Foy also aired her sentiments on the matter saying that the bravery of the women to speak up when they felt like nobody would listen can only travel. Kenneth Branagh, who was being honored for his worldwide contribution to entertainment, also opined saying that the greatest possibility of advancement occurs at the greatest point of negativity.
Duvernay is currently working on Disney's "A Wrinkle in Time" which is slated to be release next year. The film reportedly has a budget of over $100 million, making her the first black woman to direct a live-action film with a budget of that size.
