MeToo Activists Vandalize Artworks at Centre Pompidou Metz in Performance Protest

On May 6, 2024, two activists from the MeToo movement entered the Centre Pompidou Metz and spray-painted 'MeToo' on five artworks, including Gustave Courbet's 'L'Origine du Monde' (protected by glass), and works by Louise Bourgeois, Rosemarie Trockel, Valie Export, and Deborah De Robertis. De Robertis, a Luxembourgish artist, led the action and claimed it as a performance on Instagram, stating she also stole Annette Messager's 'I Think Therefore I Suck' owned by curator Bernard Marcadé. She asserted the paint is removable and no damage was done. Museum director Chiara Parisi condemned the vandalism, as did curators Marcadé and Marie-Laure Bernadac. De Robertis has a history of provocative performances, including a 2014 nude protest before Courbet's painting at Musée d'Orsay and a 2016 arrest for unauthorized actions. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati denounced the act, vowing to protect artworks from 'new iconoclasts.' Metz mayor François Grosdidier called it a criminal act. The incident occurs amid renewed MeToo protests in France, with a parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse in media and fashion, and a March 2024 controversy at the Académie des Beaux-Arts over alleged censorship of a book on sexism. Restorers are treating the works; the museum is expected to reopen May 8.