"To avoid any speculation about what I might have said, I repeat it here: 'Shame on you, whore, you’re disgusting!'. Something that just came out of my mouth, without thinking about what I was saying or of the consequences," Meghdoud posted on his Facebook page.

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Reuters attended the press screening, where there was applause when Kent's name came up on the credits. Witnesses said that was when they heard the offensive heckle.

Kent, known for the acclaimed psychological horror The Babadook, was asked at a news conference how such abuse should be dealt with.

"I think it’s of absolute importance to react with compassion and love for ignorance – there is no other option," she said.

The Venice Film Festival, which selected only one film by a female director for the main competition – compared to 20 films by men – said it had withdrawn the Meghdoud's accreditation.

Meghdoud said it was "an anomaly which I guarantee will never happen again".

"Above all, I apologise to all the people who were offended, to the director Jennifer Kent to whom I wish a splendid career, and to the Venice Biennale ... for the disgrace I have made at an international level," he wrote on Facebook.

He said he hoped his apology would "avoid a lynching or public crucifixion for a stupid comment that was not meant in bad faith".

Reuters