Gerard Depardieu insists he’s ‘neither a rapist nor a predator’ as French movie star breaks silence over claims he’s a serial intercourse abuser
French movie star Gérard Depardieu insisted he’s ‘neither a rapist nor a predator’ as we speak as he broke his silence over claims he’s a serial sexual abuser.
Accusing enemies of subjecting him to a ‘lynching’ within the media, the 74-year-old expressed his anger in an open letter in French newspaper Le Figaro.
They’re his first public feedback since no less than 13 girls joined alleged rape sufferer Charlotte Arnould, 33, in accusing the actor of felony behaviour.
Paris-based investigative information website Mediapart has revealed a file outlining the allegations towards him, accusing Depardieu of repeatedly preying on victims throughout productions together with Marseille, the Netflix crime drama.
Depardieu – who made his title in hits comparable to Inexperienced Card, The Final Metro and a movie adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac – vehemently rejects all of the claims, together with that he raped Ms Arnould at his Paris mansion.
French movie star Gérard Depardieu insisted he’s ‘neither a rapist nor a predator’ as we speak as he broke his silence over claims he’s a serial sexual abuser
Depardieu is going through trial for the assault, however within the Figaro letter writes: ‘By no means, by no means have I abused a lady.
‘Hurting a lady could be like kicking my very own mom’s tummy.’
He mentioned he had determined to talk out as a result of feminist protests had been repeatedly interrupting his newest present, which includes performing songs written by Barbara Brodi, the late French singer.
‘All that is affecting me,’ mentioned Depardieu. ‘Worse, it’s extinguishing me.’
Depardieu mentioned Ms Arnould, whom he has recognized since she was slightly lady, had consented to sexual relations with him.
‘Between us there was neither constraint nor violence nor protests,’ he writes within the letter, saying that Arnould was indignant as a result of he had refused to offer her an opportunity to carry out on stage with him.
Depardieu goes on to confess that his typically drunk behaviour may need been hurtful and surprising, however mentioned: ‘I’m neither a rapist nor a predator.’
Ms Arnould renounced her authorized proper to anonymity on the finish of 2021, to protest at how lengthy the investigation was taking, following Depardieu being charged with rape and sexual assault.
Inside a couple of days of his indictment, Depardieu was again engaged on the Paris set of the police drama ‘Maigret And The Lifeless Woman’, wherein he starred with Jade Labeste.
There’s CCTV footage of Depardieu performing a intercourse act on Arnould in August 2018.
The Mediapart report, revealed in April, reads: ‘Apart from the grievance from Charlotte Arnould, now we have gathered 13 accounts from girls who say they had been subjected to sexually inappropriate gestures or proposals by the well-known actor, of differing ranges of gravity.’
These new allegations come after French actress Charlotte Arnould (pictured) went public together with her accusation that Depardieu, 74, raped her in his Paris mansion
The report continues: ‘Throughout the completely different accounts, the identical scene appeared to repeat itself. They’re actresses, make-up artists and crew members.
‘They attest to have been subjected to a hand on their buttock, between the legs, or on their thighs or abdomen – in addition to obscene sexual propositions, and generally insistent groaning.’
Not one of the 13 accusations – a few of which have been made anonymously – are at the moment formal felony complaints.
Mediapart alleges that the incidents had been typically dismissed with laughter, and the phrases: ‘Oh, OK, it is simply Gérard!’
Mediapart means that many alleged victims feared a grievance may result in a backlash which may see them by no means working once more.
Mediapart notes: ‘The asymmetry between, on the one hand, typically younger, precarious girls, beginning their profession, and on the opposite, a world-famous actor, whose mere presence generally makes it potential to finance the movie.’
French outlet Médiapart revealed a file in April describing how Depardieu allegedly preyed on victims throughout current productions together with Netflix crime drama Marseille
The Charlotte Arnould case is at the moment making its approach by way of the French courts after an try by Depardieu’s counsel to get the fees overturned was overruled.
Accusations towards Dépardieu observe a sequence of #MeToo complaints towards highly effective males within the Paris arts institution who’re mentioned to have raped or in any other case abused younger girls working as fashions and actresses.
Such scandals have led to demonstrations by girls’s teams at high-profile showbusiness occasions, as they name for feminine actors to cease working with allegedly abusive males.
The #MeToo motion was additionally seen in numerous varieties world wide, significantly following accusations made towards disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
