Samuel Theis accused of rape by crew member on his latest film
French actor Samuel Theis, best known for starring in Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall, has been accused of rape.
Theis was reportedly removed from the shoot of the latest film he was directing, Je Le Jure, after allegations surfaced about an alleged sexual assault in July 2023.
The unnamed crew member alleges the incident occurred halfway through the film’s shoot, following a party in an apartment with the cast and crew.
As was reported by French outlet Liberation, the crew member claimed he spent the night in the apartment due to his inebriated state and alleges to have been raped by Theis in the early hours. Theis, who directed the remainder of the film remotely, has argued it was a consensual engagement.
Caroline Bonmarchand, the film’s producer, brought in a third-party organisation to conduct an internal investigation after learning of the incident, prompting Theis’ removal from the film set.
“In the end, what we’re discovering is that no matter how many kits, white papers and resources we have, when it comes to actually dealing with this type of situation, we’re not equipped,” Bonmarchand told the Guardian.
When the shoot ended in July last year, Telemara magazine reported that the crew member filed an official police complaint against Theis, which his attorney, Marie Dosé, later denied.
“The only investigation on this case was ordered by the production and carried out by an independent organisation. It was delivered in September, and it was 300 pages long -the conclusion is that there were no elements qualifying what happened of a sexual assault,” she said in a statement.
Dosé also cited an eyewitness account that described the scene as a “tender moment”.
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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