‘French Oscars’ ban nominees accused of sexual assault: ‘Out of respect for…’

France’s version of the Oscars announced that it will ban anyone accused of sexual assault from its 2023 ceremony. The César Awards are due to be held next month. The decision has been taking “out of respect for any possible victims”, César Awards said.

This implies exclusion of French actor Sofiane Bennacer, who is currently under investigation for allegations of rape. Sofiane Bennacer has denied the allegations but the decision comes amid fears of protests if the actor attended the awards ceremony. In 2020, the awards faced severe backlash when Roman Polanski who was wanted in the US for statutory rape, won best director.

The César Academy removed Sofiane Bennacer from the list of nominations in November saying that it was considering a rule change about the eligibility. The academy said that the rule also applies to anyone who has been convicted of such an offence adding that it may consider a vote on whether to make a permanent change to eligibility criteria.

“Out of respect for the victims… it has been decided not to highlight people who may have been implicated by the judiciary in acts of violence,” it said in a statement.

Sofiane Bennacer, 25, had been nominated for his role in Les Amandiers. Meanwhile, the police launched an investigation into allegations of rape and sexual assault but the film’s director, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, said that Sofiane Bennacer was the victim of a “media lynching”.