Cannes Film Festival is said to be facing backlash from the Hollywood elite for welcoming a horde of reality TV stars and influencers to grace its red carpets this year.
Insiders have reportedly said that film stars have branded this year's event, which took place from May 14th-May 25th, as "tacky and a circus".
Though usually reserved for the Hollywood elite, the likes of Love Island stars Molly-Mae Hague, who walked the red carpet with the likes of Helen Mirren and Andie MacDowell, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Zara McDermott rocked up. Love Island host Maya Jama was also in the mix.
Also scoring tickets were Made In Chelsea's Kimberley Garner, Married At First Sight's Evelyn Ellis, presenter Rochelle Humes, socialites Nicky Hilton, Victoria Hervey and Emma Weymouth, and little known social media personalities.
Many models also grabbed the headlines at this year's Cannes, including Heidi Klum and her daughter Leni, Bella Hadid and Candice Swanepoel, despite it being a Film Festival.
This is said to have been off-putting to actors who also flocked to this year's celebration where many were promoting their latest film projects and were forced to strut on the same carpet as the wannabe fame seekers.
Hollywood bigwigs including Cate Blanchett, Demi Moore, Emma Stone, Sienna Miller and Anya Taylor-Joy were some of the names in attendance, perhaps for the last time if, according to insiders, the event continues to veer off from its original ethos of exclusivity.
The fear is the festival's focus is no longer on film but fashion brands and social media engagement.
“Cannes has become a circus,” an insider told The Sun at the 77th festival. “You look in one direction and it’s Ekin-Su from Love Island, turn the other way and you see Molly-Mae.
“It’s not that these celebs aren’t welcome in Cannes, it’s just the Film Festival has lost that Hollywood appeal. Everywhere you turn there is an influencer taking photos.
“Nothing is exclusive in Cannes any more, it’s a free-for-all.”
Afterparties were once the hottest tickets in town. Not anymore.
"Campari was chaos, not class," the source added. "They hosted what was billed as an exclusive party in a beach suite but they ended up giving out hundreds of wrist bands.
"People were barging around on Boulevard de la Croisette and jostling to get in. There’s no glamour when someone’s got a selfie stick out."
Director Shaunak Sen, whose film All That Breathes won the festival's Golden Eye Award in 2022, tends to agree.
“I have no grudge or issue at all towards anybody going there, whether it be content creators or influencers,” he told The Quint last week.
“The main thing is to try to not displace attention from the central core of the festival, which is cinema.
“The makers of cinema need to be respected.”
