Ilona Chernobai, a Ukrainian influencer and fitness instructor with a million followers on Instagram, seized her moment in Cannes to make a statement even bolder than Jennifer Lawrence's flip-flops.
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Chernobai walked the red carpet for the premiere of Just Philippot's Acide wearing a blue and yellow gown—the colours of the Ukraine flag—without incident, seemingly invited to the event. But when she reached the steps leading up to the screening, she removed two packets of fake blood from her cleavage and broke them over her head as an apparent protest against her country's invasion by Russia. No sooner had she gotten ahold of the blood packets than security guards rushed up to her and escorted her off the carpet.
As noted by the BBC, it's unclear whether this act was deliberately targeted at Acide, or whether it was meant to raise awareness and Chernobai just happened to be invited to that Cannes screening.
Chernobai posted a lengthy statement alongside a video of the incident, though without an English translation. The fashion news account Diet Prada posted an (unverified) translation of part of her statement: “I took my chance and with this act I reminded what is happening in Ukraine!!!…People should not forget about us!” Talk about using your platform to promote causes close to your heart. The Diet Prada account also pointed out that, starting last year, Russian-state-media-affiliated outlets were banned from the festival in solidarity with Ukraine.
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It doesn't seem like any other stars or filmmakers in attendance have reacted to the stunt, nor has the festival released a statement, though the event planners have seemingly sanctioned other on-carpet moments of solidarity, like this photo shoot with independent Iranian filmmakers:
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This story was originally published on Glamour US.
William Bowery is alive and well at Cannes.
