Tongues were set wagging Tuesday when Screen International reported that women were turned away from Sunday night's gala premiere of Carol at Cannes Film Festival because they weren't wearing required high heels.
"Multiple guests, some older with medical conditions, were denied access to the anticipated world premiere screening for wearing rhinestone flats," the trade publication wrote.
The result was political fashion mayhem for the glamorous film festival.
Emily Blunt, on hand to promote her upcoming action drama Sicario, threw fuel on the fire when she expressed dismay at the movie's news conference.
"That's very disappointing," said Blunt, who plays an FBI agent. In her view, the ruling signified the continuing struggle for women in the film industry. "To think there are these waves of equality and waves of people discovering that women are so fascinating and interesting to watch and bankable (on screen)."
Blunt, who wore heels to the Sicario premiere Tuesday evening, expressed a wish to do away with the problematic footwear.
"Everyone should wear flats, to be honest," the actress said. "We shouldn't be wearing high heels anyway ... I just prefer wearing Converse sneakers."
The heel storm came during a festival where female filmmakers have taken center stage.
"We shouldn't be wearing high heels anyway ... I just prefer wearing Converse sneakers."
Director Emmanuelle Bercot was the first woman since 1987 to open Cannes with Standing Tall, a clear statement. The festival's second night featured the one-armed warrior played by Charlize Theron in Mad Mad: Fury Road. Blunt's role, too, was hailed as a sign of progress.
Her Sicario director Denis Villeneuve described how screenwriter Taylor Sheridan fought to keep Blunt's character a woman in the brutal drug trade tale instead of a more marketable male star.
Villeneuve jokingly offered to take a stand against the heels requirement at the Sicario premiere with Blunt's burly co-stars, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin.
"As a sign of protest, Benicio, Josh and I will walk the stairs in high heels," Villeneuve said.
The men wore traditional shoes to the premiere.
Festival director Thierry Frémaux attempted to quell the storm with a tweet: "The rumor that the Festival requires high heels for women on the steps is unfounded."
But Didier Allouch, the official interviewer on the Cannes red carpet for the last 10 years, says the rule is an "unofficial policy" enforced at the carpet.
"This (controversy) is no big deal. This policy is all part of the attractiveness of Cannes," said Allouch. "After all, we're all watching movies in tuxedos. All of these rules and protocols, that is why I love the Cannes Film Festival."
Amy Poehler, who joked about the difficulty of wearing heels to her Cannes Inside Out premiere Monday night, was philosophical when discussing the controversy with USA TODAY.
"When you run a festival, you get to make arbitrary rules," she said. "But I have a feeling someone is going to be a rebel. And that rule is going to change."
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