Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar declared “The U.S. is not a democracy right now” at the Cannes Film Festival — as American voters participated in primary elections across several states.
“I’m not really blaming anyone in particular, but it was quite notable watching the Oscar telecast where there were not many protests against the war or against Trump,” Almodóvar told the Los Angeles Times at a Cannes press conference.
“Maybe he wasn’t the only one, but the only real example I can remember came from a European, a friend of mine, Javier Bardem, who did directly say, ‘Free Palestine,’” the director continued.
Almodóvar went on to assert, “People are obviously very frightened,” adding, “The U.S. is not a democracy right now. Some people say it’s maybe an imperfect democracy, but I really don’t think the U.S. is a democracy right now.”
“The heartbreaking and ironic thing is that democracy has given rise, through the proper, right voting mechanism, to this kind of totalitarian regime. And it’s both a paradox and it’s also incredibly sad,” the 76-year-old proclaimed.
After being asked if he had any fears with regards to his career when it comes to speaking out, Almodóvar replied, “Not at all,” before bizarrely suggesting that Europeans have more free speech rights than Americans.
“I don’t have many fears,” the director told Los Angeles Times. “In a generalized Spanish sense, here we’re not afraid to call things for what they are. We have a government that has called Gaza a genocide and the Spanish people in general are not afraid to call these wars out for what they are.”
In recalling being in New York last year to accept the Chaplin Award — when he claimed he didn’t know if it was appropriate to come to a country “ruled by a narcissistic authority who doesn’t respect human rights” — Almodóvar conveyed to the newspaper that he felt comfortable saying something because he knew he would return to Spain.
“That makes it easier for me to be clear in the moment,” he said. “I’m a foreigner.”
While at the Cannes press conference for his new movie, Bitter Christmas, Almodóvar also declared that “Europe must never be subjected to Trump,” according to a report by Variety.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.