French cinema legend Depardieu asks for delay in sexual assault trial

Actor Gerard Depardieu asked on Monday for a postponement of the start of his trial on sexual assault charges, saying his health prevented him from attending the hearing and he was facing numerous other complaints and a possible second court case.

The actor is the most high-profile figure to face accusations in the French cinema version of the #MeToo movement, which began in 2017 with allegations against American producer Harvey Weinstein.

Depardieu, 75, was due to appear at a criminal court hearing scheduled to start in Paris at 1:30 p.m. (12:30 GMT).

However, hours before the start, his lawyer Jeremie Assous said the actor would not be able to attend.

“Gerard Depardieu is very agitated and unfortunately the doctors have forbidden him from attending the hearing, so he will ask for it to be postponed to a later date so that he can participate,” Assous told Franceinfo.

Depardieu is accused of harassment that allegedly occurred during filming of the film in 2021. The names of the two women accusing him have not been made public.

One of the plaintiffs, now a 55-year-old decorator, reported in February that she experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexist slurs while filming director Jean Becker’s “Les Volet Verts” at a private home in Paris. .

“I expect that the justice system will be the same for everyone and that Mr. Depardieu will not receive special treatment just because he is an artist,” the plaintiff’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, told AFP.

Assous said Depardieu’s defense will present “witnesses and evidence that will show that he was simply the target of false accusations.”

He accused the plaintiff of trying to “make money” by demanding 30,000 euros ($32,500) in damages.

The plaintiff told French investigative website Mediapart that Depardieu began calling loudly during filming for a cooling fan because he “couldn’t even turn it on” in the heat.

She claimed the actor bragged that he “could give women orgasms without touching them.”

The plaintiff alleged that an hour later she was “brutally kidnapped” by Depardieu as she was leaving the set.

The actor immobilized her by “tightening his legs” around her, then groped her waist and stomach, up to her breasts, she added.

Depardieu made “obscene remarks” during the incident, including: “Come and touch my big umbrella. I’ll stick it in your pussy.”

She described how the actor’s bodyguards dragged him away as he shouted, “I’ll see you again, baby.”

“My client expects that the justice system will find Gerard Depardieu a serial perpetrator of sexual assault,” Durrieu-Diebolt said.

The second plaintiff in Monday’s case, an assistant director on the same film, also alleges sexual violence.

– “Hiring a striker” –

Anouk Grinberg, an actress in “Green Shutters”, told AFP that Depardieu used “obscene words… from morning to night.”

“When the producers hired Depardieu to work on the film, they knew they were hiring a striker,” she added.

Grinberg stated that from her own experience, Depardieu “has always used sexual, lewd language” but that his behavior has become “much, much worse, with the consent of his profession, which pays him for it and covers up his crimes.” .

Currently, about 20 women have accused Depardieu of various sexual crimes.

Actress Charlotte Arnould was the first to file a criminal complaint.

The judge has not yet ruled on prosecutors’ request filed in August for Depardieu to stand trial for rape and sexual assault.

Paris is also under investigation after a former production assistant accused Depardieu of sexual assault in 2014.

Actress Helene Darras filed a sexual assault complaint that violated the statute of limitations.

Spanish writer and journalist Ruth Baza accused Depardieu of raping her in 1995.

“I have never, ever molested a woman,” Depardieu wrote in an open letter published last October in the conservative daily Le Figaro.

A few weeks later, President Emmanuel Macron shocked feminists by complaining about the “manhunt” for Depardieu, whom he called an “outstanding actor” who “makes France proud.”

Macron’s remarks followed the airing of an investigative television program that included footage of Depardieu making repeated misogynistic and offensive remarks about women.

Depardieu is the biggest star to face accusations as part of the #MeToo movement in French cinema.

Directors Jacques Doillon and Benoit Jacquot are among other major figures accused of sexual violence.

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