Passed the tour of Boa, the Venice Festival 2025 He enters his second week still in the name of films, red carpet, exclusive parties, glamor and international stars. Among the most crowded editions of Hollywood celebration and at the same time among the most quotationist ever, the 82nd film event is proving to be a concentrate of moments destined to remain in the festival memory: from the debut of Julia Roberts in perfect method dressing to the acclaimed return of George Clooneypassing through the unpredictable kiss between Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe up to Jacob Elordi against security (for the good of the fans).
But the Venice Festival is not only a stage for the art and celebration of cinema: it is also a place where, inevitably, lights, shadows, passions and controversies intertwine. Over the decades, alongside the big works and legendary names that have trod the Lido, there have been episodes destined to make public and criticism discuss. From the “cloonalis” who have unleashed rivers of gossip to the whims of Scarlett Johansson For a rebellious stop, up to the notorious “spit-gate” with Harry Styles who inflamed social media. And then protests, prohibited loves, provocative looks. Here, the 10 most sensational scandals of its lagoon history.
Loren’s envious bardot
In Venice the sparks between dive have never been missing. Unforgettable 1958, when Sophia Loren triumphed with Black orchid And the Volpi Cup took home. To remain very badly there was Brigitte Bardot, convinced that he already had the victory in his pocket thanks to the enthusiasm he had turned on with The girl of sin. Instead, the jury led by Jean Grémillon awarded the Italian rival. BB, furious, left the festival as a sign of protest, delivering to history one of the most glamorous and theatrical clashes of the lagoon.
Clooney, Gay and Canalis
In Venice 2009, George Clooney turned into the king of the catchphrase with his sentence: «I don’t know what to answer this question “. It all started when a chronicler of a gay portal asked him if he could ever fall in love with a man; Shortly thereafter, another journalist even undressed to ask him his hand! The star, imperturbable and ironic as always, has dribbled the provocations on his alleged homosexuality and even the pressures on marriage. On the red carpet, however, he replied in his own way: hand in his hand with Elisabetta Canalis, between flash and smiles.
The spit-gate
To the world premiere of Don’t Worry Darling In Venice 2022, Glamor left room for gossip. The director Olivia Wilde, boyfriend Harry Styles and the protagonist Florence Pugh were at the center of an alleged feud: it is said that PGH has not liked nor the relationship between Wilde and Styles, nor the background related to Shia Labeouf, initially in the run for the film. As if that were not enough, the “Sputo-Gate” exploded: a viral video would show the former one direction bending over to Chris Pine during the projection, giving the impression of having spit on him. Pine remains impassive, but the case immediately becomes meme material. To worsen the rumors, the fact that Wilde and Styles have carefully avoided couple poses on the red carpet, further fueling suspicions of tensions.
Pacino Detronized
In 2004, a small chaos marked the Première de The merchant of Venice: The place reserved for Al Pacino was sold by mistake. The inconvenience was immediately placed, but the producer Michael L. Cowan, raged, swore that he never returned to the festival again.
The most controversial edition
Venice 2019 opened between controversy and chaos: the choice to include Roman Polanski with The officer and the light And the very scarce female presence in competition (only 2 out of 21 directors) aroused criticism. But the film that really made everyone talk was Chiara Ferragni – Unosted by Elisa Amoruso, inserted in the Shavement section. The most famous influencer in the world on the Venetian Croisette made cinephile and critics discuss, but guaranteed the festival a huge return return: the halls of the “author” cinema were half -life, but everyone wanted to see the fashionista documentary.
Diana Dors and the bikini in the Mishy
The British pin-up scandalizes the lagoon by showing off the iconic fur bikini during a gondola tour in front of Piazza San Marco.
The whims of Scarlett Johannson
In 2006, the entire cast of The Black Dahlia He arrived late because of the cms of the star. The young diva, obsessed with the perfection of his Rétro Look 1940s, took hours to fix a precious butterfly -shaped clip. Result? The red carpet had to wait, with newspapers and reporters who ironized the delay.
The forbidden love of Callas and Onassis
In the 1950s the Venetian festivals had an undisputed queen: Elsa Maxwell. It was precisely to one of his fairytale parties at Danieli, in 1957, that Maria Callas met Aristotle Onassis. At the time they were both married, so the spark remained (officially) dormant, but two years after the love between the Divine and the Greek owner exploded on board the Christina yacht.
The misogynist scream against Jennifer Kent
In 2018, during the projection of The Nightingale by Jennifer Kent, the only women’s director in competition at edition 75, the room exploded in insults: a journalist with badge screamed offensive phrases at the filmmaker. The episode, in the full wave of Post-Weinstein method, marked a bad chapter in the history of the festival.
Jacob Elordi against security (for the good of the fans)
During the world premiere of the highly anticipated Frankensteinthe 28 -year -old star of Euphoria He was greeting fans when a guard tried to convince him to stop taking photos. In a video that has become viral on Tiktok, Elordi is seen responding firmly: «Never tell me what to do “ before immortalizing the admirers. The movie triggered conflicting reactions: some users praised the availability of the young Australian actor, while others criticized its behavior, underlining that the Security was only trying to do their work.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
