Actor Cate Blanchett kicked off her stilettos recently as she took the stage at the Cannes Film Festival party hosted by Variety and the Golden Globes. 

According to Variety, In Cannes, where women are mandated to wear heels on the red carpet, shoes have become a political symbol on the French Riviera. And indeed, in this case, Blanchett went barefoot to make a statement: to stand in solidarity with the women of Iran.

The actor who presented the Holy Spider star Zahra Amir Ebrahim with a breakthrough artiste award grabbed the trophy and joked, "This is to stab everyone who stands in the way of women's rights. Up the vajayjay!" 'Vajayjay', incidentally, is the jocular expression for 'vagina'.

In her remarks, an emotional Ebrahimi called attention to her home country Iran, which is "executing innocent people". According to Variety, she said, "I always thought being an actress was a paradox: serving the emotions of your own and being a flag or mirror or light. This award celebrates this paradox."