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Cate Blanchett laughed off a question from a reporter about the gown she wore to Cannes Film Festival this year.
In May, the Tár actor, 55, made headlines when she donned a black satin and baby pink haute couture bustier dress that featured an emerald green lining. It was interpreted by many as a gesture of solidarity with Palestine due to the colors that similarly matched those of the Palestinian flag.
Photos of her holding open the slit of the dress to show off the inner lining quickly went viral on X, with many fans believing she was making a statement.
While Blanchett never commented on the dress herself, she was finally confronted about it on Thursday (August 29) at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival ahead of the premiere of her new psychological thriller miniseries Disclaimer.
“We all remember the dress you wore for the Cannes Film Festival that made quite big news there,” a journalist said before asking if people “could expect something interesting in your outfit tonight or tomorrow?”
Without missing a beat, the two-time Oscar winner joked: “I’m going naked.”
Elsewhere during the press conference, Blanchett discussed her new series from the acclaimed Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón.
Describing its themes of shame, she noted that there is a “distinct lack of shame in society.” She clarified that shame is “very different” from guilt, adding: “But shame and regret and the lessons one can learn from that are very powerful.”
Scheduled to debut on Apple TV+ on October 11, Disclaimer is about a celebrated journalist (Blanchett) who discovers her past is at risk of being exposed.
The seven-part series also features Kevin Kline, Leila George, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge and Squid Game star Jung Ho-yeon in her first-ever English-speaking role.
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The next few months mark a busy time for Blanchett as she has three additional projects in the works, including a drama anthology titled Father, Mother, Sister, Brother by director Jim Jarmusch, a 2025 movie thriller, Black Bag, from Steven Soderbergh and an alien invasion comedy called Alpha Gang helmed by brothers David and Nathan Zellner.
Blanchett will also be making her long-awaited return to the stage in February 2025 starring in an adaptation of Russian writer Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull at The Barbican in London.
The Australian actor most recently starred in Borderlands, Eli Roth’s adaptation of the popular video game. Blanchett led the comedy alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, Gina Gershon, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt and Kevin Hart.
Despite its star-studded cast, the film was a major critical and box office flop. The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey panned it as being a “total disaster.”
“Wildly miscast actors and an impenetrable script make this long-delayed actioner alienating to fans of the game and incomprehensible to the casual viewer,” she wrote in her one-star review.
