Blake Lively criticises 'Woody Allen rape joke' at Cannes Film Festival

The actress reacted to a controversial joke on the opening night

(2016 Getty Images)

Blake Lively has criticised the inclusion of a joke about rape at Cannes Film Festival which has been perceived as a jab at Woody Allen and the director Roman Polanski.

At the opening night, Comedian Laurent Lafitte drew gasps from the crowd when he joked: “It’s very nice that you’ve been shooting so many movies in Europe, even if you are not being convicted for rape in the US”.

Lively stars alongside Kristen Stewart in Allen’s latest offering, Cafe Society, which opened the film festival this week.

“I think any jokes about rape, homophobia or Hitler is not a joke,” she told Variety after being asked about the joke.

“I think that was a hard thing swallow in 30 seconds. Film festivals are such beautiful, respectful festivals of film and artists and to have that, it felt like it wouldn’t have happened if it was in the 1940s. I can’t imagine Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby going out and doing that. It was more disappointing for the artists in the room that someone was going up there making jokes about something that wasn’t funny.”

Allen’s arrival at the festival came as The Hollywood Reporter published an impassioned essay by his son Ronan Farrow, in which Farrow supported his sister’s claims that Allen abused her as a child. Allen has always vehemently denied the sex abuse allegation and has never been charged with any criminal offence.

Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a child aged 13 and then fled to France after serving 42 days in prison.