French writer Welbeck loses bid to ban Dutch porn films

But the drama really unfolded on Tuesday when a judge rejected a bid by the best-selling novelist to ban an erotic film starring him in a Dutch court.

A trailer released in January showed a shirtless 67-year-old woman kissing and caressing a young woman in bed in the movie Kirak 27.

Houellebecq, who has best-selling films such as “Submission” and “Atomized,” complained that the film damaged his reputation and that he made unfair contracts under the influence of alcohol.

An Amsterdam judge disagreed.

In a written judgment, the judge said, “If it finds that the agreement is genuinely problematic, it is incomprehensible why Welbeck participated in the recording,” dismissing the author’s application and paying the writer €1,393. I ordered

Welbeck’s Dutch lawyer, Jacqueline Sharpe, told AFP the ruling was “very disappointing”.

“Mr. Houellebecq is seriously considering an urgent appeal,” she said.

In February, Houellebecq lost a similar bid in a French court.

– “Pornstar” –

Even by the standards of the bad boy of French literature, this is a strange chapter.

According to the ruling, it began when Welbeck’s wife Lysis told Leitenbeek at a dinner in Paris in November 2022 that the writer “wanted to make a pornographic film to counteract his melancholy.” rice field.

The director filmed Houellebecq having sex in Paris with a woman called Gini van Roen, a philosophy student the director works with.

The French writer and his wife then came to Amsterdam in December to sign a film deal.

In the trailer, the director is depressed after being contacted by Houellebecq after their honeymoon in Morocco was called off due to safety concerns, and Lisis just “spent a month booking a prostitute” and failed. He said he was.

“I know there are a lot of girls in Amsterdam who have sex with famous authors out of curiosity, so I told them that if I had permission to film the whole thing, I would arrange a hotel for him,” Leitenbeek said. .

But Houellebecq said in court documents seen by AFP that the deal left him “at the mercy” of Ruitenbeek.

“I was tired. The day was long and I had already drunk the wine I needed,” the writer said.

“I have no ambition to become an AV actress at my age.”

The relationship severed shortly after filming and became even worse after the trailer was released.

The writer also complained about Leutenbeek interviewing the Vice News site in February, in which he said Welbeck was “really good in bed.”

– ‘Majesty’ –

A Dutch judge ruled that although the contract was “unbalanced” and gave the director extensive rights, it was not illegal.

The evidence was insufficient to speculate that “his judgment was impaired by fatigue and alcohol” or depression, the ruling added.

Ruitenbeek said he was relieved by the decision.

“It has always been my intention to create an honest portrait. Hopefully Michelle is happy with the outcome,” he said in a statement issued by his attorney.

Welbeck was a controversial author, often accused of capitalizing on right-wing fears of Islam in France.

In 2015, Welbeck made international headlines with his “submission” of a Muslim election to the presidency.

He was nominated for last year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, which was eventually won by Annie Ernault of France, who called Houellebecq’s ideas “totally reactionary and anti-feminist.”