The Japan Times - 'Toxic' males Trump, Putin, Netanyahu to blame for wars, says star Bardem

Bardem plays an overbearing film director with an explosive temper in "The Beloved" by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday to widespread praise from critics.

In an expletive-laden outburst at a press conference on Sunday, Bardem said part of his character's flaws were due to "toxic masculinity" which led to men killing their ex-wives and girlfriends -- and starting wars.

"That problem also goes to Mr Trump and Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu," Bardem, 57, said, referring to the US, Russian and Israeli leaders.

"The big boss man saying, 'My cock is bigger than yours and I'm going to bomb the shit out of you'," he added, saying that it was "creating thousands of dead people".

Bardem has been one of most outspoken film stars against Israel's war in Gaza since 2023, triggered by a deadly Hamas attack in Israel that year. The Israeli campaign has devastated the Palestinian territory and killed more than 72,000 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

A "genocide" is "still being committed", Bardem said.

"It's a fact. You can try to justify it, explain it, but it's a fact. If you justify it with your silence or your support, you are pro-genocide."

Israel denies genocide. Its assault and invasion of Gaza came after Hamas staged the worst-ever attack on it, in which 1,221 people were killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Speaking to AFP on Saturday, Bardem said he was "getting more work than ever" despite his public campaigning against Israel's war in Gaza, something he attributed to "the narrative changing" around the conflict.

Other cinema figures, including acclaimed actress Susan Sarandon, have previously complained about their work drying up after their public statements and decision to sign petitions denouncing Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

M.Matsumoto--JT