Lars von Trier denies sexually harassing Bjork, says he "hugged" her
Bjork detailed experiencing sexual harassment in the film industry, sharing her experience working with an unnamed “Danish director” in a series of 2017 Facebook posts. Lars von Trier, who directed Bjork in his 2000 film Dancer in the Dark, denied the accusations through a statement from a business partner. von Trier has now spoken again about the accusations in an interview with French publication AlloCiné during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival:
You know, 90% of the journalists I spoke to believe that I harassed Björk, but that’s ridiculous because I denied it, but no one wrote it. Because a good story is to write that I harassed her. And this is not the case. I touched her, it’s true. I did it with all my actresses. Because she was doing a really intense job: screaming, being sick…so obviously I hugged her. But if she thinks a hug is harassment, then I think I will not be able to succeed without touching my actors. I did not touch her in the wrong places, I think.
2018 was von Trier’s return to Cannes, for the world premiere of his controversial new film, The House That Jack Built. He was banned from the festival for comments about Hilter and Nazis seven years ago, in 2011.