Cannes: Topless Protester Disrupts ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’ Red Carpet

A woman has been removed from the Cannes red carpet after making a pro-Ukraine protest.

The woman stripped off all of her clothes and fell to her knees screaming in front of the assembled photographers, according to eyewitnesses. Security guards were seen rushing over to her and covering her with a coat.

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The woman was wearing body paint in the colors of the Ukrainian flag with “stop raping us” written across her abdomen. She also appeared to have blood red paint over her lower back and legs, with the word “scum” written on her lower back.

There have been numerous reports of Russian soldiers raping civilians during the invasion of Ukraine.

The Cannes Film Festival requires multiple security checks to access its famed red carpet and there is heavy security along the carpet itself.

But this isn’t the first time the security has been breached. In 2014, infamous prankster Vitalii Sediuk slipped past the guards and stuck his head under the dress of America Ferrera during the gala for How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Tonight’s protest came ahead of the premiere of George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. The demonstration comes ahead of Cannes’ “Ukraine Day” on May 21, when the festival will hold a series of events aimed at showing solidarity for the country’s battered film industry.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to the Cannes Film Festival press office for comment.

The New York Times‘ Kyle Buchanan posted a short video of the event on Twitter.

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