French actor Théo Navarro-Mussy did not join his co-stars on the red carpet for the premiere of their film “Dossier 137” at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, TheWrap has learned.
He has been banned from participating due to an impending civil suit against him accusing him of rape, according to local reports.
“Last week, the Cannes Festival management received a warning about an actor who appears in ‘Dossier 137’ regarding a case dating back to 2023, long before our film was shot. The case in question was dismissed in 2025, but the plaintiffs intend to bring a civil suit in response to the verdict,” movie producers Haut et Court said in a statement to TheWrap.
“Even though the allegations largely predate the production of the film, we agreed with the Festival management that the person in question will not accompany the film to Cannes, out of respect for the plaintiffs and their right to be heard, while also respecting the presumption of innocence of the accused,” they continued. “The management of the Cannes Festival has been very clear about not providing a platform to any person suspected of sexist or sexual violence. For Haut et Court, these issues are utmost importance to us, so this decision was an obvious one, as it was for [writer/director] Dominik Moll, whose position on these issues has always been very clear.”
Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux told Télérama, who was first to report the news: “The procedure is still ongoing.” However, Navarro-Mussy’s lawyer told the outlet a civil appeal is not underway after the case against the actor from three former partners in 2018, 2019 and 2020 was dropped last month due to lack of evidence.
TheWrap has reached out to Navarro-Mussy’s team for further comment.
Crime drama “Dossier 137” was written and directed by Moll. It also stars Léa Drucker, Jonathan Turnbull, Mathilde Roehrich, Guslagie Malanda, Stanislas Merhar and Sandra Colombo. It hits French theaters on Nov. 19.
