‘Feminist’ James Bond director accused of abusing his power with young women on set

On repeated occasions Cary Fukunaga (44), director of the last film of james-bond, was in favor of a more favorable representation of women in the spy saga, characterized by its machismo. Now the filmmaker is accused of using his power and influence in the industry to approach young women he worked with for sexual purposes.

Rolling Stone magazine cites several sources, both anonymous and named, who worked with the filmmaker and noted inappropriate behavior. For example, in the production of the upcoming series “Masters of the Air,” he asked two actresses, one of whom had just turned 18, to pose suggestively and against a wall while dressed as prostitutes, all while he photographed them. They had already finished filming a scene, so the sources agree that the filmmaker crossed a professional line.

The testimonials in the article describe what would be the director’s ‘modus operandi’: Fukunaga looks for young female talent on the set, dedicates special attention to them and implies that being romantically linked to him will help them in their professional careers. The director, through his lawyer, denies all the accusations.

The Fukunaga case had its first uncovering at the beginning of the month, when the actress and skater Rachelle Vinberg revealed through her Instagram account that she had had an intimate relationship with the director, to which she attributes having been diagnosed with psychological trauma. Both met at the filming of a commercial, the day after her 18th birthday. A source from the production of the advertising spot recalls the “intensity” of the director when dealing, especially, with the actress. In her accusation, Vinberg calls him a ‘groomer’, a name given to someone who progressively and systematically gains the trust of a woman, usually a minor, in order to take advantage.

Although the actress does not indicate why her romantic relationship with Fukunaga ended, she does mention that when trying to talk to him about his behavior, she felt belittled and that the filmmaker, instead of accepting responsibility, used ‘gaslighting’; another behavior characteristic of abusers, used to make the victim question her own sanity.

Vinberg’s complaint brought tail. In addition to being shared and receiving reactions from ex-partners of the filmmaker, who are approximately two decades younger than the man, the twins Cailin and Hannah Loesch, who worked with the director when they were 20 years old on the Netflix series “Maniac” ( 2018). They accept that they consented to a flirtation, but that they distanced themselves from the filmmaker when he sought an intimate approach with both of them present. After being rejected, he said that the twins were exaggerating with his accusations.

The Rolling Stone article also includes a testimonial from screenwriter Nick Cuse, describing him as the “worst human being I’ve ever met.” He, who supports the cause of the women complainants, accuses Fukunaga of having manipulated him to take the writing credit in a script that did not belong to him.