Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who has been receiving widespread acclaim for his latest film performance, criticised what he described as the ‘toxic masculinity’ of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, blaming it for fuelling wars and violence.
Bardem stars as an authoritarian and hot-tempered film director in The Beloved, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday to strong praise from critics.
During a fiery and profanity-filled press conference on Sunday, the 57-year-old actor said some of the destructive traits of his character stemmed from ‘toxic masculinity’, which he linked not only to violence against women but also to armed conflicts around the world.
‘That problem also goes to Mr Trump and Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu,’ Bardem said, referring to the leaders of the United States, Russia and Israel.
‘The big boss man saying, “My cock is bigger than yours and I’m going to bomb the shit out of you'”,’ he added, arguing that such attitudes were ‘creating thousands of dead people’.
Bardem has been among the entertainment industry’s most vocal critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since the conflict erupted in 2023 following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, with women and children accounting for more than half of the deaths. ALSO READ: Spanish actor Javier Bardem sparks applause with ‘no to war’ and ‘free Palestine’ remark at Oscars.
Speaking at Cannes, Bardem said a ‘genocide’ was ‘still being committed’.
‘It’s a fact. You can try to justify it, explain it, but it’s a fact. If you justify it with your silence or your support, you are pro-genocide,’ he said. ALSO READ: Sánchez: Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation puts Spain ‘on right side of history’.
Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide. Its military operation in Gaza began after Hamas carried out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, in which 1,221 people were killed, according to official Israeli figures.
Bardem had said his outspoken stance on Gaza has not damaged his career and that he was ‘getting more work than ever’. He suggested this was because ‘the narrative was changing’ around the conflict.
Other figures in the film industry, including acclaimed actress Susan Sarandon, have previously said their careers suffered after publicly criticising Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank or signing petitions condemning the offensive.
Cannes jury member and award-winning screenwriter Paul Laverty ended the festival’s jury press conference earlier in the week by slamming Hollywood for blacklisting actors who have spoken out against the war in Gaza.
‘Isn’t it fascinating to see actors like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?’ said Laverty. ‘Shame on Hollywood people who do that. My respect and total solidarity to them. They’re the best of us, I look up to them.’
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Javier Bardem says in #Cannes that genocide being committed in Gaza “is a fact.”
— Variety (@Variety) May 17, 2026
“You can fight against, you can try to justify it… it is a fact. If you justify it with your silence or your support, you are pro-genocide. Those are facts for me.”https://t.co/8PctbmMzM3 pic.twitter.com/FgBgiGAfaC
Javier Bardem speaks out in #Cannes on toxic masculinity:
— Variety (@Variety) May 17, 2026
“That problem also goes to Trump, Putin and Netanyahu… the big balls man saying ‘my cock is bigger than yours and I’m going to bomb the shit out of you’ is a f*cking male toxic behavior that is creating thousands of… pic.twitter.com/A9Q30HzNJt
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