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Overseas, there has been some pushback to the #MeToo movement in certain corners of the industry. For example, in France, a recent open letter published in Le Monde compared the campaign to “puritanism” saying that “rape is a crime, insistently or awkwardly hitting on someone is not.” The letter also blamed the #MeToo campaign for “expeditious justice” to men who “may have touched a knee, tried to steal a kiss” or “spoken of “intimate” things during a professional dinner.” More than 100 “prominent French women,” from the industry had signed that letter, including Catherine Deneuve, as a right to try and defend “sexual freedom.”

Meanwhile, in Italy, the #MeToo movement has faced considerable pushback from the public. However, even as some strides are being made to raise awareness, Asia Argento is among those saying more must be done to identify those who have harassed or assaulted women in the Italian industry.

Now, “Amour” and “Cache” director Michael Haneke has denounced what he calls “the hatred of men” that has emerged due to this movement.

In an interview with Austrian daily Kurier (via Huffington Post France) the 75-year-old filmmaker stated, “This new puritanism imbued with a hatred of men, which comes in the wake of the #Metoo movement, concerns me.” The important and groundbreaking movement, which has helped free women’s voices and denounce sexual abuse, was described as having turned into a “witch hunt” by Haneke and “a new kind of puritanism which could hinder artistic creation.” The director went on to say, “as an artist, we are beginning to face the fear of this crusade against all forms of eroticism.” Haneke gave as an example Nagisa Oshima‘s sexually explicit classic “The Empire Of The Senses“, which he says would “never be shot or accepted today.”