Roman Polanski creates controversy at Cannes Film Festival: Gender equality purely idiotic

Roman Polanski has sparked controversy by claiming the fight for gender equality is ‘purely idiotic’ at the screening of his new film at Cannes Film Festival.
The director was introducing his latest film Venus in Fur when he was quizzed by a journalist about gender relations.
According to USA Today, the 79-year-old fumed that ‘trying to level the genders is purely idiotic’.
He added: ‘Offering flowers to a lady has become indecent … The pill has greatly changed the place of women in our times, masculinising her. It chases away the romance in our lives.’

Roman Polanski has criticised the introduction of birth control (Picture: Reuters)

Polanski’s new film, which is in competition in Cannes, revolves around the relationship between a theatre director (Mathieu Amalric) and the lead actress (Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner) in his new play.
He said of the movie: ‘The satire on sexism was very seductive.
‘There was a macho element to [the director] character that was torn to pieces. That was enjoyable.
‘People who know me know there is nothing like that in my personality, so it gave me great satisfaction to do it.’
Polanski was arrested and convicted over the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977