French Film Star Gerard Depardieu Denies Claims of Serial Sexual Abuse, Asserts Innocence

French film star Gérard Depardieu today insisted he was “neither a rapist nor a predator” as he broke his silence after claiming he was a serial sex offender.

Accusing his enemies of subjecting him to a media “lynching”, the 74-year-old man expressed his anger in an open letter to Le Figaro.

They are his first public comments since at least 13 women joined alleged rape victim Charlotte Arnould, 33, in accusing the actor of criminal behavior.

Paris-based investigative news site Mediapart published a dossier outlining the allegations against him, accusing Depardieu of regularly attacking victims during productions including Marseille, the Netflix crime series.

Depardieu – who made his name in hits such as Carte Verte, Le Dernier Métro and a film adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac – vehemently rejects all allegations, including that he raped Ms Arnould in his mansion in Paris.

Depardieu was tried for the attack, but in the letter to Le Figaro wrote: “Never, never have I abused a woman.

“Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach. »

He said he decided to speak out because feminist protests regularly interrupted his latest show, which involves performing songs written by Barbara Brodi, the late French singer.

“All this affects me,” Depardieu said. “Worse, it turns me off.”

Depardieu said Ms Arnould, whom he had known since she was little, had consented to sex with him.

“Between us, there was no coercion, no violence, no protest,” he wrote in the letter, claiming that Arnould was angry because he had refused to give him the chance to perform on stage. with him.

Depardieu goes on to admit that his often drunken behavior could have been hurtful and shocking, but said: “I am neither a rapist nor a predator.”

Ms Arnould waived her legal right to anonymity in late 2021, to protest the length of the investigation, after Depardieu was charged with rape and sexual assault.

A few days after his indictment, Depardieu was back on the Paris set of the police drama “Maigret and the Dead Girl”, in which he played alongside Jade Labeste.

There is CCTV footage of Depardieu performing a sex act on Arnould in August 2018.

The Mediapart report, published in Aprilwe read: “In addition to Charlotte Arnould’s complaint, we have collected 13 testimonies from women who say they have been subjected to sexually inappropriate gestures or propositions from the famous actor, of different levels of seriousness.”

The new allegations come after French actress Charlotte Arnould (pictured) went public with her accusation that Depardieu, 74, raped her in his Paris mansion.

The report continues: “Throughout the different accounts, the same scene seemed to repeat itself. They are actresses, makeup artists and crew members.

“They attest to having suffered a hand on the buttock, between the legs, or on the thighs or stomach – as well as obscene sexual propositions, and sometimes insistent moans.”

None of the 13 accusations – some of which were made anonymously – currently constitute formal criminal complaints.

Mediapart claims that the incidents were often brushed aside with laughter and the words: “Oh, okay, it’s just Gérard!”

Mediapart suggests that many alleged victims feared that a complaint would lead to backlash that could lead to them never working again.

Mediapart notes: “The asymmetry between, on the one hand, often young and precarious women, at the start of their careers, and on the other, a world-renowned actor, whose simple presence sometimes allows the film to be financed.”

French media outlet Médiapart published a dossier in April detailing how Depardieu allegedly preyed on victims during recent productions, including the Netflix crime series Marseille.

Charlotte Arnould’s case is currently underway in the French courts after Depardieu’s lawyer’s attempt to have the charges overturned was rejected.

The accusations against Dépardieu follow a series of #MeToo complaints against powerful men in the Paris art establishment who allegedly raped or otherwise abused young women working as models and actresses.

Such scandals have led to protests by women’s groups at prestigious show business events, calling on actresses to stop working with allegedly violent men.

The #MeToo movement has also taken various forms across the world, most notably following accusations against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.