Pedro Almodovar wears ‘Free Palestine’ pin, warns Europe against Trump at Cannes

CANNES, FRANCE: Pedro Almodovar said during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival that filmmakers have a “moral duty” to speak up “about the situation in which they live”, before warning that “Europe must never be subjected to Trump”.

The Spanish director, who wore a ‘Free Palestine’ pin during the event, made the comment while responding to questions about censorship concerns amid the current political climate in the US and controversy surrounding Canal+ in France.

Pedro Almodovar says artists have a moral duty to speak out

“This does affect us a lot,” Almodovar said, while also urging artists not to give in to fear or intimidation.

He continued, “I don’t want to judge anyone, but I think artists have to speak out about the situation in which they live in contemporary society. It’s a moral duty.”

“Silence and fear is a symptom that things are going badly. It’s a serious sign democracy is crumbling. On the contrary, creators must speak out… the worst thing that could happen would be to remain silent or to be censored. We have a moral obligation to speak out…we have to act as a shield against this madness,” the 76-year-old asserted.

Almodovar also warned that “Europe must never be subjected to Trump” while discussing the broader political climate.

Pedro Almodovar criticizes silence at Oscars over Trump and war

Earlier, before the beginning of the festival, Almodovar spoke with the Los Angeles Times and complained that “there were not many protests against the war or against Trump” at this year’s Oscars ceremony.

“Maybe he wasn’t the only one, but the only real example I can remember came from a European, a friend of mine, Javier Bardem, who did directly say, ‘Free Palestine,’” he mentioned.

The screenwriter further noted that “people are obviously very frightened. The US is not a democracy right now. Some people say it’s maybe an imperfect democracy, but I really don’t think the US is a democracy right now.”

“The heartbreaking and ironic thing is that democracy has given rise, through the proper, right voting mechanism, to this kind of totalitarian regime. And it’s both a paradox and it’s also incredibly sad,” Almodovar added.

Pedro Almodovar says he is not afraid of backlash

The Spanish filmmaker also clarified that he does not fear being canceled for speaking out publicly.

“I don’t have many fears. In a generalized Spanish sense, here we’re not afraid to call things for what they are. We have a government that has called Gaza a genocide and the Spanish people in general are not afraid to call these wars out for what they are,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, this was not the first time Almodovar publicly criticized Trump.

In 2025, while receiving the Chaplin Award at Lincoln Center in New York City, he called out the Republican leader by saying that the US was “ruled by a narcissistic authority, who doesn’t respect human rights.”