'Creating thousands of dead people': Javier Bardem condemns 'toxic male behaviour' of Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu

Actor Javier Bardem didn’t hold back as he spoke his heart out during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Bardem accused Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu of perpetuating “male toxic behaviour”.

The Oscar winner, 57, spoke to the media with director Rodrigo Sorogoyen for the premiere of The Beloved, a psychological drama where he plays Esteban Martinez, a renowned filmmaker trying to reconnect with his daughter after years of absence.

‘Male toxic behaviour is creating thousands of dead people’

When Bardem was asked about recurring themes of absent fathers and damaged masculinity in films screening at this year’s festival, he spoke about violence against women and what he described as “a culture of toxic masculinity”.

“I’m 57 years old, coming from a very machista country called Spain, where there is an average of two women killed monthly by their ex-husbands or ex-boyfriends, which is horrible,” he said, according to Deadline.

“Just that amount of women being murdered, it’s unbelievable. And we kind of normalised it. It’s like, ‘Well, yeah, it’s horrible.’ I mean, are we f***ing nuts? We are killing women because some men think they own them, they possess them.”

Bardem then went on to name leaders of America, Russia and Israel. “That problem also goes to Mr Trump and Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu, the big balls man saying, ‘My c*** is bigger than yours, and I’m gonna bomb the s*** out of you,’” Bardem claimed.

“It’s a f***ing male toxic behaviour that is creating thousands of dead people, so yeah, we have to talk about it. And I think we are talking about it. We are more aware of it, thankfully, because maybe 20 years ago, this was something that nobody would pay attention to as a problem, and I think this movie speaks about that.”

‘The fear does exist’

The Spanish actor is one of the most vocal celebrities speaking against the Israeli war on Gaza. He admitted that he fears his political views will have repercussions.

“The fear does exist,” he was quoted as saying by Deadline. “Granted that one has to do things, even if you feel a bit scared or afraid. You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and look at yourself in the eyes, and that was my case. My mother taught me to be the way I am.”

Earlier this year, in March at the 2026 Oscars, Bardem wore an anti-war patch and a pro-Palestine pin on his suit.

“No to war and free Palestine,” he said on stage, before presenting the award for the best international film.