Cannes: Amputee Stopped ‘For Not Wearing Heels’

Cannes: Amputee Stopped ‘For Not Wearing Heels’

Producer Valeria Richter, who had part of her left foot amputated, tells Sky News she was stopped on her way into a premiere.

Everyone is keen to put their best foot forward on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

But it is the fashion police rather than the frocks that are making headlines – after women in flat shoes were allegedly turned away.

Film producer Valeria Richter says she was stopped at a gala premiere for not wearing high heels – despite a visible disability.

She told Sky News: “Two years ago I had part of my left foot amputated so I can’t really wear heels anymore … you walk all day … we’re all working women at Cannes, the last thing you really want is to stand in high heels just for a three-minute walk up a red carpet.”

She added: “We shouldn’t be forced to wear heels – look at fashion and how it changes, almost anything goes in fashion.

“A festival of the scope and the glamour of Cannes should follow in the footsteps of fashion and be much more inclusive of what’s allowed on the red carpet.”

She was stopped four times on her way into the premiere of Gus Van Sant’s Sea of Trees on Saturday.

Ms Richter, who was eventually allowed in, spoke after Cannes was accused of turning away women in flat shoes.

Asif Kapadia, whose Amy Winehouse documentary premiered in Cannes at the weekend, said his wife had been stopped on the red carpet for wearing flats but was “eventually let in”.

The “flat ban” has sparked a backlash on social media – with women posting pictures of their comfortable shoes with the hashtag “show me your flats”.

Now even the stars are stepping in.

When asked about the controversy British actress Emily Blunt, whose latest film Sicario debuted in Cannes on Tuesday, said: “Everyone should wear flats, to be honest, at the best of times, we shouldn’t wear high heels anyway.

“That’s just my point of view, I just prefer wearing Converse sneakers.”

Rebel model Cara Delevigne was also shocked at the reports, she said: “A flats ban? I’m going to wear flats now, for that reason. Are you kidding me?”

Festival director Thierry Fremaux has said “rumours” of a ban on heels were “unfounded“.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “For the stairs, the regulations have not changed: ‘No smoking, formal wear’. There is no mention of heels.”

The PR stumble is even more awkward for Cannes during a year in which it is seeking to address sexism in cinema.

The festival opened with a female-directed film for the first time since 1987, and organisers have endorsed a series of “Women in Motion” talks by stars such as Isabella Rossellini and Salma Hayek.

But despite this it seems there is a still lot of work to be done before inequality is truly stamped out.