Muriel Robin denounced homophobia in the cinema industry on the set of “Quelle époque”, affirming that her homosexuality is the reason why she no longer finds roles on the big screen. She received the support of several personalities.
It’s a cry from the heart that Muriel Robin uttered on the set of “Quelle époque”. This Saturday, September 16, the actress invited to Léa Salamé’s set denounced homophobia in the French seventh art. “Why are the actors all silent? she lamented. I know the French gay actors, (…) and we will never know that they are gay. There are no gay actors who do a great career.”
She claims in fact that her homosexuality prevented her from obtaining roles in the cinema. According to her, to act on the big screen, you have to be “desirable” and “penetrable”. “The young girl sticks the actor’s photo in her room, the young man that of the actress. There is something about desire, something sexual. When we are homosexual, we are not desirable , we are not penetrable. And when we are not penetrable in cinema, we are worthless.”
In this extract, shared on social networks by the account of the France 2 show, she claims to be the “only one in the world” to publicly accept her homosexuality: “Jodie Foster kept silent for 30 years. Kristen Stewart was d “first with Robert Pattinson, so his homosexuality was a bit sexy, a bit rock”. Muriel Robin lamented that “in 30 years, I have only been in comedies twice, it’s not for nothing”.
Muriel Robin’s words caused a huge reaction. Among them, Olivier Py, director of the Châtelet theater, who said in the show Le Live Toussaint on BFM TV this Monday, September 18, “alas, she is right. There is an unsaid homophobia in cinema.” Muriel Robin’s companion, Anne Le Nen, gave her support on Instagram: “Powerful. Courageous. Chilling but true. I know what you’re talking about… Proud of you my love.”
For his part, host Christophe Beaugrand, also openly homosexual, claimed to have “interviewed several actors who hid their homosexuality. One in particular, often in a leading role, said that if he came out he would no longer be offered only gay roles. Before citing his own example: “many people advised me against talking about my homosexuality, telling me that it might hold me back. I have heard several times that it made me miss projects.”
If there are English-speaking actors and actresses who have appeared on the big screen since coming out (Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Sarah Paulson, Neil Patrick Harris, Matt Bomer, even if the latter work mainly in television), there are indeed few examples of openly homosexual French actors and actresses taking on roles in the cinema.
Among them, Jean Marais mainly worked with his companion, Jean Cocteau. When Adèle Haenel made a declaration of love to director Céline Sciamma when she received the César for best supporting actress in 2014, her coming out was not immediately understood. “It’s as if no one had heard,” she later explained to Têtu magazine.