Gérard Depardieu in police custody regarding sexual assault claims
French actor Gérard Depardieu is currently under custody at a police station in Paris following sexual assault allegations.
According the reports in France through BFMTV, Depardieu is facing questioning by the police regarding accusations made by two women, who allege he sexually assaulted them while working on film sets. The two incidents are alleged to have occurred in 2021 and 2014.
One claim relates to The Green Shutters, released in 2022. In February, a member of the crew came forward to accuse Depardieu of grabbing and touching her breasts in 2021 while they worked on the movie.
Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the lawyer working on behalf of the alleged victim, confirmed to French television on February 26th that the complainant is accusing the actor of sexual assault, sexual harassment and using sexist insults.
Durrieu-Diebolt claimed to BFMTV that her client was “passing through a corridor where Mr Depardieu was sitting” when the incident occurred. “He grabbed her, trapped her between his legs and touched her body up to her breasts. She felt completely powerless, incapable of escaping this trap,” the lawyer continued. The alleged incident was stopped by other people who worked on set.
Meanwhile, the second allegation relates to the 2015 motion picture, The Magician and the Siamese. According to France 24, the woman in this case allegers that Depardieu groped her “all over” and made “inappropriate” remarks to her while she worked as an assistant.
The actor was previously charged in 2020 with raping actor Charlotte Arnould while she was battling anorexia in 2018, and has also been accused of sexual assault by Helene Darras. The latter case was dropped due to it passing the statute of limitations. Furthermore, in 2023, Spanish author and journalist Ruth Baza alleged Depardieu raped her in 1995, and although it has passed the statute of limitations, she filed a complaint to encourage “other people” to do the same.
Depardieu handed himself into a police station in Paris on April 29th. He has previously denied any allegations of wrongdoing. In an open letter published last October, he wrote: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”
Notably, Jimmy Kimmel made a controversial reference to the French actor during his opening monologue at the Academy Awards last month. When the camera panned to Messi, the dog who appeared in Anatomy of a Fall, Kimmel said of the canine: “I haven’t seen a French actor eat his vomit like that since Gerard Depardieu.”
This is a developing story.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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