Two Moroccan actresses have stirred controversy after sharing a kiss on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival this week.
Footage from the festival captured Lubna Azabal and Nisrin Erradi, who star in the Moroccan film Adam, posing in front of photographers and kissing each other twice. After facing backlash from members of her community, Azabal apologized for the incident and claimed she considers her co-star as her "sister."
Azabal and Erradi walked the red carpet after starring in Moroccan director Maryam Touzani's film Adam, which is nominated for the Un Certain Regard category at the prestigious film festival.
In a video capturing the moment, Azabal and Erradi can be seen embracing each other and sharing a kiss, before looking at photographers and laughing. When photographers standing behind them asked them to do it again, the actresses turned around and repeated the kiss.
The gesture stirred quite the controversy among the Moroccan society, prompting Azabal to share a video commenting on the matter. She started off the video with the Islamic greeting "as-salamu alaykum," which translates to "peace be upon you," and went on to apologize for the kiss while speaking in French.
"I kissed Nisrine because I consider her as my sister [...] It was a naive kiss and it's my fault, I did not think. I did not mean to hurt or shock anyone in this Ramadan period," she said, repeating that it was a sisterly kiss and noting that Erradi had not been warned beforehand.
Adam, which critics already foresee as a serious Oscars foreign-language contender, reflects the reality of having a child out of wedlock in Morocco.
Critics have spoken highly of the actresses' "superb performances," with the Hollywood Reporter's Deborah Young writing:
"Actresses Lubna Azabal and Nisrin Erradi turn a simple story about an unwed Moroccan girl who is pregnant into gold."
Here's how social media users reacted to the incident:
The actresses were widely criticized
"This kind of affection should be private"
Some thought it was just a publicity stunt
But not all comments were negative
Some users believe there was no need for an apology
"Where's the problem?"
"Our society needs to encourage affection"
People worry about the repercussions the actresses will face
It all boils down to this
