Julia Roberts has hit back at critics who’ve claimed her new film, After the Hunt, is ambiguous about where it stands on the #MeToo movement and sexual assault allegations.
Roberts offered the clapback at the Venice Film Festival premiere of the movie, which is helmed by Challengers director Luca Guadagnino and co-stars Andrew Garfield.
In the movie, set for release in October, Roberts portrays a Yale professor who struggles with her response after a dear friend and colleague is accused of sexual assault by one of her students.
The film’s themes reportedly stirred controversy at its Venice debut earlier this week, culminating in a tense press conference in which journalists suggested the movie is unclear about its stance on believing victims of sexual assault.
Per the ABC, Roberts brushed off such suggestions, saying After the Hunt is not trying to provoke, but to ignite conversations.
“We’re not making statements, we are portraying these people in these moments of time,” the My Best Friend’s Wedding star said.
“If making this movie does anything, getting everybody to talk to each other is the most exciting thing,” she added.
Roberts went on to praise the film as a conversation-starter in a time when we are “losing the art of conversation”, before saying that a viewer’s opinion on the themes of the movie is ultimately on them.
“I don’t know about controversy, per se, but we are challenging people to have conversation,” she said. “To be excited or infuriated about it is up to you.”
While After the Hunt was shown out of competition at Venice, it reportedly received a six-minute standing ovation, which if you know anything about the festival, is pretty much written into the rules.
Roberts is apparently already earning Oscar buzz for her role in the film, which also stars The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri, as well as Chloë Sevigny and Michael Stuhlbarg.
Guadagnino’s films are known to get tongues wagging, from the infamous peach in Call Me By Your Name to the cannibalism of Bones And All and basically the entire runtime of the horny fever dream that is Challengers.
We won’t know for sure whether Roberts’ defence holds up until After the Hunt hits screens, so check back in later to see whether we’re “excited or infuriated”.
Lead images: Theo Wargo/Getty Images and YouTube
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