French actor Gerard Depardieu was set to face trial on sexual assault charges in Paris today but has asked that his day in court be delayed due to unspecified health reasons, his lawyer said.
‘Depardieu is extremely affected and unfortunately, his doctors have forbidden him from being present at the hearing, which is why he will ask for a postponement to a later date so that he can attend’, legal representative Jeremie Assous told Franceinfo this morning.
The 75-year-old titan of French cinema was expected to face the court in Paris this morning over the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021.
Depardieu, who previously denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using ‘violence, coercion, surprise or threat’ in the alleged assault, which prosecutors said took place on the set of Les Volets verts (The Green Shutters).
Prosecutors say that in both cases, victims reported that the 75-year-old actor trapped them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts over their clothes.
The trial comes as France continues to reckon with sexual violence in the wake of the MeToo movement that struggled to find traction, especially in the cinema industry.
Gerard Depardieu waves as he arrives during a red carpet event for the movie ‘Novecento- Atto Primo’ at the 74th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Italy September 5, 2017
The 75-year-old star, who has made more than 200 films and television series, was charged with rape in 2020 in a separate case and was forced to put his career on hold last autumn
One of the alleged victims told investigators that she had first heard sexual remarks from Depardieu before one day suffering an assault, prosecutors said.
She claims that as she walked past the actor, he ‘grabbed her, attracted her towards him, blocked her with his legs, and groped her waist, hips and chest, accompanying her gestures with obscene remarks’.
Three people witnessed it, prosecutors said, confirming that the woman attempted to break off Depardieu’s grip and that she seemed ‘shocked’.
A psychiatrist examination granted her a seven-day leave.
After the incident, it was arranged for Depardieu to apologise.
But in a TV interview aired on Saturday, she said the actor was furious and blamed her for causing trouble.
Prosecutors said witnesses confirmed that what Depardieu had said did not constitute an apology.
In the interview with French online news site Mediapart, the production designer – who spoke on camera but only gave her first name – said the alleged assault had taken a toll on her personal and professional life for at least one-and-a-half years.
She said she could not sleep well, suffered anxiety attacks and lost weight.
The woman said it had taken her a while to file a complaint but decided to do so after hearing on television that there had never been an incident during the shoot, prosecutors said.
One month before that alleged assault, another woman also working on the film’s set had complained about Depardieu.
A director’s assistant told investigators Depardieu had touched her buttocks on several occasions.
She had expressed her disapproval and in return, Depardieu, she said, had been insulting towards her.
She was also given a six-day leave by a psychiatrist.
Gerard Depardieu attends a film premiere in Berlin in January last year
When asked about the claims against his client, Jeremie Assous said ‘the witnesses and evidence (Depardieu) will produce will demonstrate that he is the target of false accusations’.
Despite the allegations against Depardieu, many have come out in his support, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Late last year, 56 French performers, writers and producers published an essay defending the film star, saying that when ‘Gerard Depardieu is targeted this way, it is the art (of cinema) that is being attacked.’
Their call came just weeks after national broadcaster France 2 put out a documentary outlining accusations of sexual misconduct by 16 women against Depardieu, and showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.
In the footage, Depardieu can be seen making groaning sounds and sexual comments in front of women, including a girl about 10 years old who is horse riding.
He can also be seen posing for a photo, saying he was ‘touching the bottom’ of a North Korean interpreter by his side.
Besides the two sexual assault charges the actor is facing in Paris, prosecutors say Depardieu should face a separate trial regarding a rape and sexual assault claim by fellow actor Charlotte Arnould.
Ms Arnould, now 28, claimed she was raped and sexually assaulted by Depardieu in August 2018.
Her claim was initially dismissed but was later reopened as further evidence came to light.
French actor Gerard Depardieu poses during a photocall for the second season of the French TV show ‘Marseille’ in 2018
The investigation has been going on for a full six years, with evidence including CCTV footage of Depardieu performing a sex act on Ms Arnould at his mansion in August 2018.
Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, Ms Arnould’s lawyer, said the request for trial was ‘the result of a long investigation that made it possible to gather the elements that corroborate my client’s words.’
Ms Arnould renounced her legal right to anonymity at the end of 2021.
Last year, a criminal enquiry was also opened into the suspected suicide of a French actress who had accused Depardieu of sexual violence.
It was feared that the last hours of Emmanuelle Debever, 60, may have been linked to the multiple abuse accusations levelled by women against Depardieu.
She died on December 7 – the exact day France 2 broadcast the documentary about the claims against him.
It contained disturbing details of an alleged attack by Depardieu on Ms Debever when she was still a teenager.
Depardieu has denied the claims against him.
In an open letter published in the conservative-leaning newspaper Le Figaro, Depardieu said he was subject to a ‘lynching’ in the media and protested his innocence.
‘I have never, ever abused a woman… I am neither a rapist nor a predator,’ he wrote.