It’s 2019, and apparently men still have to be told not to kiss women without their consent.
Recently, Charlize Theron appeared on French talk show, Touche pas à mon poste , alongside Seth Rogen.
While they were there, the show’s host, Cyril Hanouna, decided to kiss. the interpreter on the cheek.
Charlize was not happy.
So, here’s why they were there
Charlize and Seth Rogen were appearing on _ Touche pas à mon poste_ to promote their new movie, Long Shot .
Charlize and Seth required an interpreter to participate in the film’s promotion on the show.
Charlize was onto the host immediately
Before anything really happened, Charlize pointed out how assertive Cyril Hanouna was.
She noticed this, because he ordered her interpreter around pretty decisively.
“He’s pretty bossy!” She said, good-naturedly.
Things went normally after that…
They were trying to make sure the interpreter, Nadia, had a working mic.
Seth found all of the confusion hilarious, and so did Cecil. He was animated and moving around the set a lot.
Charlize was already done. She was rolling her eyes.
Cecil decided to push it
Look at the body language here.
The key to how to read this scene is in three things:
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Charlize placing a comforting hand on her back, Cecil leaning into her space and grabbing her mic, and the interpreter backing her head away from him.
And then he kept pushing it
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek with no warning after she told him her name.
She immediately laughed it off (you may relate to the instinct to laugh while uncomfortable), but Charlize was not impressed at all.
Here’s what’s creepy
When you watch the video, you can clearly see that Cecil had his eyes on Charlize the moment he finished kissing the interpreter’s cheek.
It looks like he was watching her for a reaction. So, she gave him one.
She spoke up at once
She and Seth were a little speechless. While Seth struggled with how to react (he was stuttering), Charlize addressed Cecil:
“That was very…okay. Maybe ask next time?”
Seth’s face kinda says it all.
Seth agreed
The moment Charlize finished speaking, Seth said “Yeah.”
They all took it in stride, and it didn’t get overly serious, but it was uncomfortable. And Charlize did not let Cecil’s actions slide.
Cecil seemed surprised
He nodded his head like he was listening, obviously taken aback by her reaction.
I would say that he had actually heard what he said…except that one Twitter user pointed out what happened afterward.
And that was this:
So, not only did he not think it was that big a deal, but he saw fit to laugh it off.
He also saw fit to make the interpreter uncomfortable again, by putting her on the spot and asking her how she felt about it.
Here’s a brief explanation for why Charlize may have been offended
To many, this probably wasn’t a big deal.
But to others, it was.
Invading personal space like that is one of the few, tiny ways that someone can exert control over another person, particularly if it’s a man doing it to a woman.
Stopping micro-aggressions like this can help re-shape society to have greater respect for women.
The internet was all over this one
Many applauded Charlize’s actions.
A small moment can mean a lot to women who often see this sort of thing taken so casually.
It’s important to see people we admire set a standard for how to behave respectfully.
Fellow interpreters also chimed in
No one knows better than a fellow interpreter (and woman) how it feels to be in a situation like that.
Alessandra was a fan of Charlize standing up for the woman helping her out.
Another viewer pointed out the show’s history with women
And it isn’t good.
Looks like Charlize was more than justified to say something, given how far that show has gone in the past.
Will things change? Probably not. But there’s always hope.
Others argued that this is simply how things are done in France
I would argue that it really depends on the comfort level of each person in the interaction, and whether they actually know the person kissing them.
And that interaction should not be followed up by asking if the kiss “titillated” the receiver.
But maybe that’s just me.
