Adele Haenel Announces Retirement from Cinema Industry
Adele Haenel has closed a chapter in her life. Speaking on Saturday, April 25 on the show C dans l’air broadcasted on France 5, the 37-year-old actress confirmed that she will not return to the cinema industry, denouncing it as deeply problematic and one that has not learned from its mistakes.
“I do theater, that’s what I do. I’m not criticizing the medium, but the industry. It constructs images that do not help us get out of the crisis we are in. For me, the stories it proposes remain problematic, conveying racism, sexism. I do not want to participate in that,” she explained on the television program.
Adele Haenel specifically mentioned works that, according to her, contribute to normalizing certain representations, including those involving childhood. Becoming one of the strongest voices in the movement for speaking out in French cinema, Adele Haenel is now continuing her commitment away from the spotlight.
“It’s a relief, the end of a heavy and trying legal journey”
This media intervention marks a discreet but significant return. The actress had hardly spoken publicly since 2021. She chose to speak out a few days after the filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was convicted in an appeal of sexual assault against her when she was a minor. She considers herself “lucky to have had access to justice,” but questions: “Does this feeling of luck not indicate a profound injustice?”
On the television show, she elaborated: “It’s a relief, the end of a heavy and trying legal journey. A chapter is closing, it’s good to have the terms set. This journey is work, time spent on a case, and it’s time that I can now dedicate to something else.”
Despite facing the cameras, she emphasizes the importance of moving beyond her personal case to support a larger cause. As a now former actress, she is now followed for her activism. Her goal, she says, is to contribute to a society where “all lives are livable.” Adele Haenel denounces a “rule of law (…) crumbling,” and asserts: “I fight on the side of law, in a world slipping towards fascism.”
