Jane Fonda has made a bombshell allegation about a prominent late director in an appearance on Andy Cohen’s talk show, Watch What Happens Live.
In a segment titled ‘Plead The Fifth’, Cohen asked Fonda, 85, to name a man in Hollywood who “tried to pick you up once who you turned down.”
In response, Fonda recalled working with the late French film director René Clément, alleging, “He wanted to go to bed with me because he said the character had to have an orgasm in the movie and he needed to see what my orgasms were like.”
“He said it in French and I pretended I didn’t understand,” she added.
Given that Clément passed in 1996, it is important to note that these allegations have not been brought before the court.
According to Variety, the film Fonda was referring to is Joy House, and filming for the project reportedly took place when Fonda was just 27, while Clément was 51, and an already decorated filmmaker with Cannes Film Festival and BAFTA awards.
Next, Cohen asked her to name “the biggest misogynist in Hollywood”, to which she replied, “Oh my God. I plead the fifth.”
Fonda’s allegations have renewed meaning in the current day, with allegations of a history of abuse within the French film industry currently swirling in the media.
Adèle Haenel, who acted in Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, earlier this year announced she was retiring from the industry, penning an open letter that accused the Cannes Film Festival for being “ready to do anything to defend their rapist chiefs,” citing filmmakers such as Roman Polanski.
Polanski was arrested in 1977 for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, per Variety. He was arraigned and accepted a plea bargain, but fled to France nearly a year after his official arrest before he could face imprisonment. He has never been extradited back to the US to face his charges.
The head of the festival, Thierry Frémaux, reportedly responded to Haenel’s claims via a speech to the media at this year’s Cannes, saying:
“She didn’t think that when she came to Cannes unless she suffered from a crazy dissonance … But if you [the public] thought that it’s a festival for rapists, you wouldn’t be here listening to me, you would not be complaining that you can’t get tickets to get into screenings.”
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