In praise of French women

I spent the better part of two sunny days indoors writing about authenticity for a Greek magazine, a strange subject in view of how inauthentic politics are in that Brussels-run south-eastern outpost dotted with islands. Mind you, what is taking place in the West makes Greek politics seem ideal by comparison. The witch hunt is…

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I spent the better part of two sunny days indoors writing about authenticity for a Greek magazine, a strange subject in view of how inauthentic politics are in that Brussels-run south-eastern outpost dotted with islands. Mind you, what is taking place in the West makes Greek politics seem ideal by comparison. The witch hunt is on and it’s as phoney as the one that burnt those poor women in Salem long ago. Thank God for the French actress who injected some badly needed truths into Hollywood’s bullshit. Catherine Deneuve signed an open letter published in Le…

I spent the better part of two sunny days indoors writing about authenticity for a Greek magazine, a strange subject in view of how inauthentic politics are in that Brussels-run south-eastern outpost dotted with islands. Mind you, what is taking place in the West makes Greek politics seem ideal by comparison. The witch hunt is on and it’s as phoney as the one that burnt those poor women in Salem long ago. Thank God for the French actress who injected some badly needed truths into Hollywood’s bullshit. Catherine Deneuve signed an open letter published in Le Monde attacking the wave of ‘puritanism’ sparked by the allegations against Harvey and co.

It was about 15 years or so ago that I took part in a debate about whether Britain would be better off siding with Paris or Washington where foreign policy was concerned. The egregious George W. Bush was in the White House and Washington’s foreign policy was being run by neocons taking direct orders from Tel Aviv. The debate moderator was Peter Jay, as pompous as he was overbearing and taking himself as seriously as his former wife took Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame, whom she had an affair with while Jay was our ambassador to DC. When my turn came, I said that London should follow Paris for the simple reason that Paris had Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Irène Jacob, whereas America had Hillary Clinton, Shirley MacLaine and Jane Fonda. I think that won it for my side. At a French embassy drinks party afterwards, the ambassador thanked me for bringing up France’s women, as well he might. He couldn’t very well bring up the country’s fighting men in world war two, could he?

Catherine Deneuve has once again come to our rescue. They’re going after everyone, even that talented Bruce Weber, the photographer, who took pictures of me way back when I was almost cute for Andy Warhol’s Interview. When I asked him to empty the room because posing in front of people made me nervous, he did so and nothing unprofessional happened. Perhaps I wasn’t his type. Actually, both Bruce Weber and Mario Testino know whom to pounce on, and they pounce on those who are inclined that way. But try and tell that to the Torquemadas who now run the Inquisition.

It’s the hypocrisy that gets me. If those screaming the loudest about women’s rights being trampled by ghastly men were looking in the right place, they would be focusing on the alleged behaviour of XXXTentacion, a rapper who is topping the charts with his first album, 17. XXXTentacion apparently slugged his pregnant girlfriend, which I think would be slightly worse than asking for a massage and a shower, golden or not. He denies the charge, but does that explain the lack of outcry? What about Tay-K, another black hip-hop ‘artist’ who is facing a pair of murder charges, which he denies? Is Tay-K better than Harvey because he’s accused of only two murders whereas Harvey harassed tens of women? And there’s always another ‘artist’, 6ix9ine, who is still working after pleading guilty in 2015 to the use of a child in a sexual performance.

Now I read that the divine Rebecca Hall has announced she will never work with Woody Allen again. Rebecca is not the usual airhead actress, yet she’s turned against Woody on the word of his adopted daughter Dylan. My, my, hell hath no fury like Mia Farrow being dumped by Woody for another adopted daughter, who is now Madame Allen. What I don’t get is why rappers, who are mostly black, are given a pass by the media, whereas white producers and directors, many of whom are Jewish, are thrown to the lions and their work tethered to the accusations against them? We are already giving rappers the benefit of the doubt by calling them artists. What’s more, not only are the criminals among them being signed to lucrative contracts, but the likes of Tay-K who is in jail awaiting trial, has signed a recording contract while in the cooler. Go figure, as no rapper says any longer.

The terrible New York Times headlined the crimes of rappers against women as ‘Rap’s misconduct’. Oh, is that what it is. Simple misconduct. Your loathing for white heterosexual males is showing, you old bag. Just as obvious is the shameless sycophancy on the part of the rest of the media towards those trained seals, which is what I consider most actors to be. Who the hell cares what Meryl Streep thinks? Is her opinion about male oppressors more valid than that of a secretary working in Pakistan, or women in Saudi Arabia in general? If these trained seals were campaigning truthfully to change the system, would they be worrying about models making millions in the West or dirt-poor women in Arab countries? Shut the hell up and go back to balancing balls on your snouts, says the arch-feminist Taki.

Oh, for the good old days before Eros was stripped of sex. When everyone flirted and no one took Hollywood seriously except those bums who have always run Hollywood. One day we will speak in a similar manner about the EU. It will be exposed for the undemocratic den of thieves it is, and for the undemocratic way it’s run, and this will start when the EU tries to muscle in on the democratically elected Polish government. Poland, Hungary and Austria, hold your ground against the fascist EU, and don’t be surprised if Harvey produces a movie starring Kevin and directed by Woody against you three. It will be called Penance.